Stiff fines to unruly flyers on Las Vegas-bound flights are fine by us

As many Las Vegas air travelers can attest, inbound flights to our city are sometimes a party in the sky.

That’s great in and of itself — it speaks to the excitement that tourists feel about coming here. But this year, too many passengers on flights to and from our city have crossed the line from festive to belligerent. Statistics released by the Federal Aviation Administration last week revealed that unruly passengers on Las Vegas flights had racked up more than $100,000 in fines this year, about a tenth of the total amount of fines issued nationwide. Las Vegas-bound flights had the most fines of any destination.

The FAA is hitting these problem passengers hard, with fines ranging from $9,000 to $39,000 for one. Most of the violations are for failure to wear a face mask or for drinking alcohol that passengers brought on board, which is against FAA rules.

Here’s to the FAA for taking stern action and sending a strong message that unruly behavior won’t be excused.

It’s the responsible thing to do for flight crews and for rule-abiding passengers.

Unfortunately for everybody involved, bad behavior on airlines is through the roof this year. The FAA reported that to date it had fielded 3,988 complaints of unruly passengers and had initiated 693 investigations, more than four times the total investigations from all of 2019, the year before the pandemic caused widespread travel restrictions.

Flight crews, especially flight attendants, are bearing the brunt of this abuse. We’ve all seen viral videos of flight staff being physically assaulted and verbally abused by passengers simply for doing their jobs and trying to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

Meanwhile, passengers who won’t wear masks are putting everyone on the plane at risk of contracting COVID-19 or another disease. In a closely packed environment, not wearing a mask during a pandemic is inexcusably reckless and selfish. And while airlines filter the circulated air in the cabin, the filtration isn’t a foolproof defense against the spread of disease by any means.

Look, everybody wants air travel to get back to normal, without masks and with a full beverage menu.

But that’s not the way things are right now, for good reason.

Skipping a drink and wearing a mask for a few hours may not be the most pleasant way to fly, but the regulations in place are reasonable and responsible. Those who disagree can always find another mode of travel.

In the meantime, we trust the FAA will continue to deal with violations seriously. Passengers need to know that if they cross a line, they’ll pay a steep price.