Every flight attendant I know has been the brunt of temperamental travelers. When I was exhausted myself at times, my lack of training in this area did not give me the skills to handle these passengers as well as I could have. Passengers feel they are packed like sardines in a can. Imagine sardines sitting up in a can. Vincent Mark, M.D., an environmental physician in Santa Cruz, supports my theory.
Rage bubbles up at high altitude just like soft drinks fizz over at high altitudes.
The link between air rage and poor air quality deserves a closer look. To start with, passenger unruliness began to rise some 20 years ago, coinciding with the cost-cutting practice of using recycled air instead of fresh air in commercial jets. Airline seats are now as small as seats on subway trains, and with many flights lasting longer, passengers feel they are packed like sardines in a can, or chickens in crowded cages. The last time I flew, I was in an aisle seat in economy. The passenger next to me was too large to fit in his seat, and his touching me all flight made me very uncomfortable.