Happy Holidays! Airlines Really Are Restraining More Disorderly Passengers 

Something to ponder in the next few weeks as you wait in an interminable TSA line for the privilege of cramming yourself into a seat that seems to shrink with every successive trip: The number of incidents involving disorderly airline passengers is in fact increasing.

Can’t imagine why everyone is stressed and full of rage!

Bloomberg reports that it’s not simply that these stories are viral gold because they resonate with the angriest parts of our souls. Airlines really are confining more belligerent/unruly passengers:

As the number of serious incidents involving drunk and violent travelers increases, airlines are being forced to physically restrain an increasing number of disorderly passengers, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Statistics released Tuesday by the industry’s main trade group show a 50 percent rise last year to 169 passengers who were forcibly confined for behavior ranging from verbal and physical abuse to life-threatening actions — the most serious of which involved attempts to enter the cockpit.

Now, reported incidents overall did indeed drop. But “the portion that were deemed a higher risk increased from 2015,” Bloomberg explained.

Try to keep your cool out there, everybody.