Reports of unruly airline passengers plummeted 74% after a federal judge struck down Biden’s mask mandate, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.
Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, struck down the Biden administration’s transportation mask mandate April 18. While total weekly flights remained stable throughout 2022, the number of weekly unruly passengers peaked at 6.4 in the final weeks of the mandate before plummeting to the current 1.7; there were 2.2 or fewer unruly passengers each week for the remainder of the year, according to the FAA.
There were 2,178 unruly passengers in 2022 by Nov. 1, compared to 87 by mid-December in 2019, according to FAA data.
Despite the probable link between the mask mandate and unruly airplane behavior, the Biden administration is still pushing to reinstate it through court battles, according to RealClear Investigations.
“It’s about increasing the power of the federal government as well as people who are not elected, and it’s not a partisan issue. They all want more power and are getting it through these emergencies,” Leslie Manookian, president of the Health Freedom Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit against the mask mandate, told RealClear.
In 2021, 85% of unruly passenger incidents involved masks compared to 58% which involved alcohol, according to the Association of Flight Attendants union.
The FAA did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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