ALL AROUND THE WORLD, frequent flyers, territorial about armrests and fretful about footing, now secretly wonder if the person next to them is a business flyer or a berserk flyer!

And they may have good reason to be apprehensive. Unruly behavior in the skies has been increasing at an astonishing rate in both numbers and levels of hostility.

In well-publicized incidents, airline passengers have defecated on food carts, beaten up crew members, and even sexually assaulted their own seats!

Here are some examples of "air rage."

Passenger Mr. Finneran, a banker, was fined $50,000 by United Airlines after he assaulted an attendant and then defecated on a first-class food cart during a Buenos Aires-to-New York flight.

Passenger Mr. Guzman-Hernandez removed his pants and then "simulated having sex with the back of his own seat."

Passenger Mr. Misiak put his hands around the throat of a flight attendant and threatened her because she spilled a drink on him.

A passenger named Ms. Pennix grabbed a flight attendant's finger and bent it backward. Pennix explained to authorities that she didn't like the way the flight attendant told her to put her tray and seat in an upright position before landing.

Passenger Mrs. Levy grabbed a flight attendant by the arms and twisted her wrists. Levy was traveling with three children and explains that she lost her temper because her 20-month-old was crying, had wet pants, and there was no way to get to the bathroom.

Passenger Mr. Okada from Japan "allegedly urinated on the seats" then punched another passenger who told him to stop.

A group of drunken Irish tourists were apparently so unruly over the Atlantic that the crew enlisted the help of a wrestling team to restrain them.

Airline crews have begun to take drastic measures which sometimes have disastrous consequences.

In December 1998, an unruly passenger was aboard a Malov flight between Bangkok and Budapest. The crew and passengers tied the unruly man to his seat, then a doctor on board injected him with a tranquilizer.

The passenger died--tied to his seat with airplane headset cords!

Once the crew noticed that the unruly passenger had died, the plane made an unscheduled stop in Istanbul. Five witnesses (passengers) were detained by the Turkish police along with the doctor. After a 13-hour delay, the remaining 183 passengers winged away (and behaved themselves, in spite of their late arrivals and missed connections).

An autopsy in Istanbul showed that the unruly passenger had died due to the mixture in his blood of the tranquilizer and some other drug or alcohol.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

The airlines must accept the major portion of the blame. Here's why, numbered 1 through 5:

1) Airline management is not responding to the need for in-flight security. Crews should not be in the position to be bouncers and bodyguards.

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.

2) One more cause of air rage is certainly the in-flight cabin environment--a place that is high in toxic chemicals and allergens, and low in air pressure and oxygen.

Vincent Mark, M.D., an environmental physician in Santa Cruz, supports my theory. "Curtailment of fresh air in airplanes can be causing deficient oxygen in the brains of passengers, and this often makes people act belligerent, even crazy," said Dr. Mark in a telephone interview, adding "I'm positive about this, and it can be proven with a simple blood test."

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.

3) Still another culprit, high on the list of irritants for airline passengers, is cramped "sardine seating." 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. Is it any wonder they peck peevishly at those around them?

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 through the flight made me very uncomfortable. On the other side, everyone who passed, even the carts, bumped into me.

Airline executives (who travel in first class) have, to date, only pointed to excess luggage as the cause for surly passenger behavior. In testimony before Congress, airline management blamed air rage on the number and size of bags passengers bring on the plane.

Upon closer examination, it appears the airlines themselves have contributed to the luggage problem by removing coat closets, leaving little room for garment bags or heavy outer clothing.

And with eight percent of all airline baggage lost or stolen, travelers are increasingly reluctant to check their luggage.

4) The difference between passenger expectations for comfort and service and the reality of what awaits them on board, especially in coach class, is no doubt another contributor to the increase of air rage. Airline ads still show flight attendants answering passengers' every wish. This is not possible because all the airlines have downsized to save money.

5) Alcohol and altitude don't mix. The inside of the airplane cabin is 8,000 feet. Passengers are afffected by alcohol more quickly than they realize at high altitudes. Drinking dehydrates people, and this can lead to irritability, fatigue and tunnel vision. Since alcohol also lowers inhibitions, why should we be surprised that it also magnifies the emotional reaction to the difficult flying environment? Most air rage incidents have been alcohol related.

While "unruly" passengers have been a problem within the airline industry for many years, they are just now coming to the attention of the public, the press and Congress. Even flight attendants are speaking up--in spite of the gag orders most have signed with their respective airlines.

Since passengers, not just crew, are being fondled and assaulted, Congress is investigating. But the chances of an effective response are slim considering the fact that minimal airplane air quality standards--debated in Congress since June 12, 1996--have yet to pass into law.

HERE'S WHAT TO DO

In case you find yourself on a flight with an air raged "unruly" passenger:

• Rather than confront the offender directly, leave your seat and seek out the purser or senior flight attendant. The purser is usually found in first class, so bypass the flight attendants in coach. Give the purser the row and seat number of the unruly passenger. Remain calm and communicate clearly.

• And if you have a tendency to be an unruly passenger, here's what you might consider. The airplane is a microcosm of humanity. There are high-techies next to hikers, politicians next to pilgrims, and business flyers next to bawdy kids. Keep in mind that the trip is a challenge for everyone on board. Tolerance and gestures of gentility could make your flights more pleasant--for you, and for everyone around you as well.

• Please! Think what you can do to make it easier for others. Say "please." Be kind. Act on your compassion. 

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FROM READERS

" I worked in aerospace industry 33 years and traveled internationally more than 300 days a year a lot of the time. I did not know about hypoxia then, but I did know that I recovered from my Trans-Atlantic flights and trips to Cairo or Dubai easier on BA, KLM and Lufthansa than when I flew a US Carrier. The European carriers are requlated to ensure adequate oxygen is provided to the passenger cabin. In the United States, only cockpit oxygen levels are regulated to ensure pilots get what they need. There is a fuel penalty to bring in "fresh" air at minus 52 degrees centigrate, heat it, mix it with cabin air and recirculate it. Airlines left to their own choices always opt to save fuel. I never see this discussion in the media reports of air rage as you have introduced it. As long as air rage is attributed solely to the action of individuals and not to actions of the airlines the airlines will continue to keep cabin oxygen levels low. Regulation of oxygen levels should be demanded as a cost of doing business just like safe tires on the aircraft." -Lew Fite

"I am very much impressed with your work concerning health in flight. My findings concerning environmental anemia actually re-enforce your original insight that the lower air-pressure of the in-flight cabin can cause air rage. My own work on this subject delves into the physiology of the oxygen deprivation and my results back up your original thesis." -Dr. Ross Lee Graham, University of Linkoeping, Sweden....

"I think they should do away with drinking alcohol on flights just like they did cigarettes. It's a toxin, a drug, and a leading cause of violence."--Dee Pollock

"To what extent, do you think, the no-smoking rule, on international flights, is contributing to the "air rage"? While I absolutely support the rule, my son-in-law, who smokes, became extremely irritable and aggressive on a flight to London last year. My daughter was ready to kill him. I can see how nicotine deprivation combined with alcohol could be a dangerous combination." -Evelyn Staus

"I would suggest that the enraged passenger develops his/her rage at the plane or in the terminal in specific, direct, and immediate response to airline employee arrogance, incompetence, superciliousness, discourtesy, rudeness, ignorance, and disregard for normal courtesy, much less some things called professional standards and professional conduct and professional performance." -Thomas Ryan Nelson