You might have seen these viral videos of passengers going completely nuts while inflight, during boarding, or the boarding gate. It is a WTF moment and you wonder what is going on with this person. What triggered them to a point of no return. From what I understand this is an episode of Air Rage. It is believed air rage is attributed to physical and psychological stress.

The most recent incident occurred on February 1, 2025 on an Alaska Airlines flight. A male passenger allegedly pulled the hair of another passenger. This caused Alaska Airlines flight attendants to take action and subdue the man. Video shows the flight attendants punching the man several times to get him to let go of the passenger’s hair.

FAA noted that air rages incidents spiked 492% in 2021. The incidents rose during the pandemic. In 2023, there were 1,900 reports of unruly passengers. So what is causing all this rage?

Psychologist believe worsening cabin conditions, normalization of aggressive behavior towards services workers, and political differences are some causes. A University of Wisconsin report cites stress of tight quarters, lack of personal space, smells, and hunger can also trigger people.

You add in the stress of arriving to airport 2+ hours and navigating through the TSA lines (if you don’t have Clear or TSA pre) is a perfect storm for people to lose their shit.

Another factor is alcohol. We spend way too much time at the airport. Flight delays, missed flights, layovers you name it are some reasons we’re there longer. Most major airports are equipped with several lounges. Which comes with free alcohol! American Express lounges for example alcohol is complementary. After a few cocktails and beers, it’s time to head to the boarding gate. Are you fit to fly? Yeah maybe.

You begin boarding and boom something triggers and it’s all hell from there. I’ve not seen or experienced air rage while traveling. I’ve seen the minimal bickering but nothing to the extreme.

If you were to witness one, what would you do? And how would you react?

Leave comment and share your experience!

Cheers!