Fight or flight: Unruly passengers are starting to calm down

9/5/23 7:00PM

Fight or flight

‍When air travel reopened after the pandemic, reports of ‘unruly’ passengers dominated the news, with stories detailing everything from passengers being bound with duct tape, to wearing thongs in lieu of face masks — the New York Post even has a section dedicated to nightmare flyers. However, data from the Federal Aviation Administration now shows the number of incidents getting back towards “normal”.

The spike in incidents aligned with the introduction of the FAA’s “zero tolerance policy”, enacted in Jan 2021. The policy was initially put in place as a temporary measure, but the 492% increase in disruptive behavior reports from 2020 to 2021 — with nearly 75% of incidents related to masking rules — caused it to be made permanent in April 2022.

So far this year, the FAA has recorded 926 incidents of unruliness, down 72% compared to the first 6 months of 2021. Despite overall cases of rowdy travelers declining going into 2022 — most likely in line with the phasing out of the federal mask mandate — the number of passenger cases where the FAA has pursued legal enforcement action increased from 350 in 2021 to a jumbo 567 in 2022. Last year’s surge in flight-related criminal prosecutions also saw passenger fines reach a total of $8.4 million, up from $5 million in 2021.

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Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

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This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

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China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

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John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

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More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

Fight or flight: Unruly passengers are starting to calm down

More World

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

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