Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Federal authorities are focusing on unruly and disruptive air passengers in
a new campaign to make commercial flights safer.

Reacting to reports about the rising incidence of drunken or violent
travelers injuring flight attendants and endangering aircraft, the FBI is
working closely with airlines, local police and San Francisco International
Airport to respond more quickly to such disruptions.

``Many of our members had been hit, kicked and injured,'' Mary Kay Hanke,
international vice president of the Association Flight Attendants union,
said yesterday at a news conference at San Francisco International Airport.
``They have had hot coffee poured on them. Jurisdiction on the ground was so
confusing that many did not receive help from federal or local law
enforcement officials.''

Hanke said that one major carrier experienced a 100 percent rise in
incidents in the early 1990s. She declined to identify the airline. There
are already federal laws against unruly behavior by passengers, including
prison time of as long as 20 years and fines of as much as $250,000.
Passengers who use dangerous weapons could face life imprisonment.

But Hanke said many flight attendants have felt that the rules were not
being strictly enforced.

To deal with the problem, the Federal Aviation Administration, FBI and the
U.S. attorney's office have set up a program in which unruly passengers are
immediately reported to authorities, said U.S. Attorney Mike Yamaguchi.

Under the plan, federal authorities will then work closely with local police
and airline personnel in developing a case against an accused passenger.

Since it began in July, the program has led to the arrest of eight
passengers, two of whom have been convicted, said Gerald Moore, manager of
the FAA's Air Carrier Security Program in the Western Pacific.

He said alcohol is a major factor in most of the incidents.