( CNN ) -- On a recent flight from Atlanta , I was delayed on the tarmac for an hour and a half . The woman seated behind me played two Adele songs on a loop on her iPad . On speaker . For an hour . No one said anything . At one point the woman took a call . `` I 'm on the plane , '' I heard her tell the caller . `` It 's Adele on my iPad ! '' Then , `` I do n't have headphones . But everyone likes Adele ! '' Anyone who has ever been on a plane , and is over the age of 10 , has probably experienced some form of air rage . Creating it , witnessing it or just making a supreme mental effort not to succumb to it by thumping your seatmate for an outrageous offense such as playing loud music , noisily speaking on the phone or eating food so stinky it might actually be considered a weapon . The good news : you 're not alone . The bad news : air rage is becoming routine . The International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) saw a 29 % rise in incidents on board flights between 2009 and 2010 . The Transportation Security Administration , however , has seen a decline over the last three years in security-related disturbances the agency has been called to deal with on planes . Air rage : Passengers 'quicker to snap ' However you slice it , you do n't have to work too hard to notice multiple recent examples of passengers losing their cool in lavish fashion . This year alone we 've seen some impressive displays of in-flight fury . January started with an unruly passenger aboard a Reykjavik to New York flight who finished his journey rather inelegantly duct-taped to a seat after an apparent display of screaming , hitting and spitting at fellow passengers . Later that month , a Jetblue flight from New York to San Diego made an unscheduled stop in Denver to remove a woman who allegedly became verbally abusive after another passenger was moved to a neighboring `` even more legroom '' seat near her . The source of the woman 's rage was apparently that the man had not paid for the extra legroom ( $ 65 ) , but had been moved there due to a broken television in his seat . In February , a male passenger on a flight to Atlanta is accused of hitting another passenger 's crying baby , uttering a racial slur as he did so . Man accused of slapping toddler will plead not guilty . According to an FBI affidavit , a passenger on a February Hawaiian airlines flight from New York assaulted a flight attendant , spat food at people and bit an air marshal . And another February incident proved that you do n't even have to be up in the air to experience air travel-related anger . Yan Linkun , identified by NBC News as an executive and Chinese Communist Party official , became incensed at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming , China . Learning he 'd missed not one but two flights , Linkun vented his rage by flinging equipment and smashing windows in an impressive tirade that has since gone viral . Airline squeeze : It 's not you , it 's the seat . Frustrations on the ground and in the air may seem to invite air rage . Before fliers even reach their allocated metal bird , they 've often struggled through security and customs lines and may face delays at the gate or on board . And the United States ' recent mandatory government spending cuts could make those slowdowns at airports worse . Airlines , angling to make a profit , are chipping away at legroom or charging extra for a little more room , introducing new fees or bundling and unbundling the existing charges and re-jiggering mileage programs to favor the elite big-spenders . Travelers take aim at kids on a plane . Air travelers are agitated , but it does n't quite explain why some boil over on planes . Is the altitude getting to them ? HLN 's Dr. Drew Pinsky points out that fliers can experience mild brain swelling even at low altitudes that can make it harder to keep your cool . Or are enraged passengers just under the influence ? `` If you want to look at one single contributing factor , you would have to point at alcohol , '' Dr. Drew says . Andrew Thomson , creator of airrage.org and author of several air-travel related books including `` Air Rage : Crisis in the Skies , '' agrees . `` Alcohol , '' he writes , `` is the leading driver of air rage . '' In fact , many of the air rage incidents above were allegedly alcohol-related . Fortunately , no one on my flight was outwardly enraged or inebriated , though I 'm sure , like me , many passengers were entertaining extravagant fantasies of how they 'd deal with that offending Adele fan and her iPad . What in-flight behaviors push you to the verge of an outburst ? Share your stories below .
A string of air rage incidents in the first months of the year highlight air traveler tensions . Experts point to alcohol as a key ingredient in many instances of in-flight confrontation . The author only simmered over an offending Adele fan 's inconsiderate behavior .