Reports of unruly US airline passengers up 500% this year

The friendly skies have gotten more unfriendly.

Reports of unruly passengers on US airlines this year have taken off, spiking by 500 percent thanks largely to passengers who refused to wear masks on flights during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Since Jan. 1, the FAA says it has gotten 3,509 reports of unruly travelers, 2,605 of them involving anti-mask passengers.

The incidents have sparked 581 investigations and led to enforcement action in 87 cases as of Tuesday, the FAA said.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, this year has seen an average of 12 “inflight disturbances” per 1 million screened passengers — a huge leap over the 2019 average of 2 incidents per 1 million.

TSA officials also told a US House panel Tuesday that 85 agency officers have been physically assaulted since the outbreak of the pandemic.

With Post wires