Fight or flight: How to quell air rage before it takes off

Reports of unruly passenger incidents rose from 2023 to 2024, according to data from the International Air Transport Association.

If you’re a frequent flyer, you don’t need anyone to tell you flying these days can be both frustrating and, well, even infuriating. The cheap seats are cramped, carry-on rules keep getting more restrictive, and even basics, like water, will cost you on some budget airlines

Take all this, combined with the stress of flight delays or cancellations, and what Gatineau-based etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau describes as growing incivility and intolerance in our society – and you have a perfect pressure cooker for tempers to ignite.

“People are quicker to erupt than ever before, and are generally less tolerant of each other,” said Blais Comeau. “Angry outbursts