Man arrested after videos show violent outburst at Miami International Airport
Videos taken at the Miami International Airport on August 27, 2021 by witnesses depict a man violently lashing out at airport personnel. He was later taken into custody and is reported to be a U.S. military veteran who was hospitalized for observation following this incident.
The WVPI has been monitoring a spike in workplace violence this year across airlines. For instance:
On August 4, 2021, a male Frontier Airlines passenger was duct-taped to his seat after reportedly groping two flight attendants and punching a third while the plane was in the air.
On August 11, 2021, a female American Airlines passenger was also duct-taped to his seat after he reportedly tried to kick out a window and physically fought against airline personnel and fellow passengers.
In May 2021, a male Southwest Arlines flight attendant lost two teeth after a passenger allegedly punched her in the face after ignoring standard in-flight safety instructions.
Statistics maintained by the Federal Administration Administration (FAA) seemed to warn of increases in violence by passengers.
The FAA received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, which includes up to 1,900 reports of passengers who refused to comply the with the federal mask mandate on flights by the end of 2020, a trend which appeared to continue into 2021.
The federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines workplace violence as "the act or threat of violence, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults directed toward persons at work or on duty" as those airport employees subjected to last Friday evening's violent outburst were.
SOURCES:
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/04/1024577106/frontier-airlines-passenger-taped-to-seat-after-allegedly-groping-assaulting-cre
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1001385922/the-faa-has-seen-a-significantly-higher-number-of-unruly-passenger-reports-in-20.
https://www.wfla.com/news/national/teenage-american-airlines-passenger-duct-taped-to-seat-after-in-flight-incident-video-shows/