Date: 202101
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.ARTCC, US
Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Initial Approach
Airspace: Class B ZZZ
ATC / advisory: TRACON ZZZ
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Workload; Situational Awareness
Second reporter function: Pilot Flying; First Officer
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
Detector: Person Flight Attendant
When detected: In-flight
Result: General Police / Security Involved
Contributing factors: Environment - Non Weather Related; Company Policy; Human Factors
Primary problem: Environment - Non Weather Related

Narrative: A little while after reaching cruise altitude; the flight attendants contacted us to let us know that there was a passenger who was not complying with the mask policy.  They were handling it per their guidance and keeping us informed.  Later in the flight there had been some other problems that they had informed us about. The First Officer and I had completed a bathroom rotation just before starting down into ZZZ when we got a call from the flight attendants informing us they were [having problems with this passenger]. They just wanted to be sure we knew this. I asked them to let us know if there were any problems.  Several minutes later; we received a call that this passenger had not taken kindly to the warning and had become 'verbally combative.'  I thanked them for letting us know; and asked if everyone was okay.  They replied yes; they were.  I asked them to keep us informed if there were any changes of if anything escalated; they said they would.  At this point we had begun the descent on the arrival into ZZZ; the First Officer had been flying the whole leg.  He had been managing the radios as well while I was talking to the flight attendants.  I considered that while the situation currently was Level 1; I felt it was most prudent to get the aircraft on the ground to protect my crew and the other passengers.  Additionally; felt it would reduce my workload as well as my First Officer's if we requested priority handling.  I told the First Officer what I was considering and why; and asked if he had any considerations.  He agreed that was a good choice.  I then requested priority handling with ZZZ approach and informed them of SOB and fuel remaining.  I had sent an ACARS message to Dispatch informing them of our situation.  I called ZZZ ops and informed them of the same.  I then checked in with the flight attendants to ensure things were okay; which they were.  I informed them we were accepting priority handling and would be on the ground as soon as possible.  As we passed through 10;000 feet we kept the speed up around 315 knots to expedite our arrival.  We were given radar vectors to a visual Runway X and landed uneventfully.  We had to wait a few minutes for our gate as it was occupied.  We pulled into the gate.  The passenger disembarked and the situation was over.  There were no injuries.  After the plane was empty the crew got together in the front of the airplane for a debrief of the situation.  At the end of the debrief I asked the flight attendants if they were okay and would be comfortable with continuing.  They all felt that they were okay to continue.  When the First Officer and I debriefed; I asked him the same and he was good.  I took a moment to assess myself and determined I was good to continue as well.It is worth noting that the flight attendants did a very good job of keeping us informed as to the status of the situation.  This was helpful and good crew CRM.  They were clear in their communication; calm and professional.  My First Officer also was a model of CRM and performed exceptionally to include his aircraft handling to expedite our arrival.


Second narrative: Passenger wasn't complying with mask usage after being repeatedly requested to by flight attendants. Flight attendants issued warning after which passenger became verbally aggressive.


Synopsis: Air carrier flight crew reported a passenger misconduct incident during flight that initiated due to non-compliance with face mask policy.