Disorder in the skies is still on the rise as the number of reported unruly passengers so far this year climbed to 3,988, an almost 100-case increase from last week, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA is trying to curb the number of unruly commercial airline passengers with a simple public service announcement released this week on Twitter: "Unruly behavior doesn't fly."

The U.S.has seen a significant jump in reported cases of passengers causing disturbances on airplanes during the pandemic. This week, reports of passengers refusing to wear masks rose to 2,928, while investigations reached 693. Last week, the numbers were 2,867 and 682, respectively.

In a typical year, the FAA receives 100 to 150 formal cases of bad passenger behavior, NBC News reported.

In its #FlySmart PSA, the FAA warned passengers that “disruptions on a plane put everyone at risk and can lead to fines up to $35K or imprisonment.”

The FAA recently reported that 34 U.S. airline passengers face up to $531,545 in civil penalties after engaging in unruly behavior during flights, bringing the total amount to more than $1 million this year.

The FAA's summaries detail cases of passengers determined not to wear masks and intent on sneaking and drinking their own alcohol onto aircraft, as well as incidents where passengers have appeared to snort cocaine, threw carry-on bags at other passengers, and hid a flight attendant's jacket.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asked U.S. airports to assist in the effort to crack down on disruptive airline passengers, noting that alcohol “often contributes to this unsafe behavior.”

However, unruly behaviour in the skies continues and flight attendants seem to be running out of patience and options on how to contain passengers.

One unruly incident got so bad that flight attendants had to duck-tape a passenger to his seat. Maxwell Berry, 22, was later arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of assault after punching one and groping the breasts of two flight attendants.

The flight attendants were placed on paid leave while the case is being investigated, according to Frontier.

Unions representing pilots and flight attendants have called on the Justice Department to step in and pursue criminal charges to show that these incidents are being taken seriously.

"Making these prosecutions public will put a spotlight on the serious consequences when breaking the law and will act as an effective deterrent against future onboard disruptions," the unions wrote in a letter signed by three groups representing the airlines.

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