The number of disruptive passengers on airplanes continues at a pace well above pre-pandemic levels. While the midair dustups are trending down after the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy and increased fines almost five years ago, the incidents will end up close to double the three-year average before the pandemic.

Why are so many people still going bonkers during flights? There’s no lack of culprits.

One obvious one is access to alcohol as kiosk bars spring up across from boarding gates. Airline seats are shrinking while most Americans are getting larger. Another is social media: The unruly get 15 minutes of infamy and the recorders of such displays get the clicks.

While these potential sources of bad behavior are disparate and complex, the FAA’s solution was spot-on: Its zero-tolerance policy forgoes warnings and is backed up by fines up to as much as $43,658 for each violation. That should be effective, but the message hasn’t sunk in fast enough. While efforts have been made to spread the word, such as an airport ad campaign, they haven’t been enough to break the cycle and push the outbursts down to pre-pandemic levels.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took a stab at cajoling passenger to behave themselves by harking back to the “golden age” of air travel when passengers wore suits and dresses and were better behaved. This was also an era when only the well-heeled could afford to fly. The industry now reaches the masses, as it should, and that comes with more dustup potential.

As much as Duffy — and many fellow passengers — would prefer travelers not show up at the airport in flip-flops and midriff tops, that’s unlikely to change. Flyers aren’t going to give up their comfortable sweatpants for a suit. Can you imagine the fights that would break out if an airport or airline attempts to enforce a dress code?

The FAA and airports need to be more aggressive about warning passengers. A good place for a sign that highlights the fine would be right above the kiosk bar among the gates. How about on the jet bridge, which would give passengers something to read while standing in line to board? Perhaps after flyers check the box agreeing not to bring on hazardous items — such as lithium batteries and ammunition — they would have to acknowledge reading a warning about proper behavior and the fact that passengers must follow orders from the flight crew.

The spike of violence on aircraft was ignited by Covid-19 restrictions and hassles — mostly fueled by masking requirements. Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off. Undoubtedly, there are lingering effects on both flight attendants and passengers from that intense period. Then there’s just the societal polarization that has intensified in the past decade and has more people on edge and coiled to lash out. Add a few drinks from the kiosk bar, and the smallest spark can unleash the rage.

Certainly, the number of incidents has dropped from a peak in 2021, when there were 720 altercations in March alone, according to FAA data. There were 104 unruly passengers last month, the lowest monthly tally since 2020. In the first 11 months of this year, 1,480 altercations were reported, down 23% from the period a year earlier. Still, that level is much higher than the 889 incidents in all of 2018 and 544 in 2017.

Continuing the crackdown on unruly behavior and publicizing it widely is the only way to get passengers to shape up. The financial incentive for airports and airlines to serve alcohol precludes temperance as a solution. Airlines aren’t going to give up precious cabin real estate with larger seats and more legroom at the back of the plane. There’s no controlling social media nor how the incidents go viral and inspire more bad actors. It’s futile to wait for the country to heal its polarizing politics.

Airlines don’t discuss the problem publicly much. The violence isn’t good for brand image and it’s not good business to disparage customers. Although an incident can be costly, especially if a flight is diverted to an unscheduled airport, they aren’t that common. Last year, U.S. airlines operated almost 10 million domestic and international flights. Since the end of 2024, reported incidents occurred at an average of 1.5 times per 10,000 flights, according to the FAA.

Flight attendants are trained to de-escalate potentially explosive situations. Who knows how many fights didn’t break out in a melee because the flight crew spotted off-kilter passengers and knew how to listen and empathize to defuse a disruption?

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A messaging bombardment should make it clear to passengers that they must follow instructions from flight crew and can file a complaint later. The job of flight attendants is safety first and later to serve beverages or bring a blanket. The viral videos of fisticuffs make headlines, but the resulting fines are too anticlimactic to garner much news coverage — even a record fine of $81,950 for a passenger who shoved and punched flight attendants and tried to open the plane door while in flight.

While the number of unruly passengers is trending down, it hasn’t been quick enough. Let the warning spread far and wide: Disruptive behavior in a metal tube crammed with hundreds of people is simply unacceptable — and there will be consequences.

Thomas Black is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist writing about the industrial and transportation sectors. He was previously a Bloomberg News reporter covering logistics, manufacturing and private aviation.