Dread at 30,000 ft: Inside the increasingly violent world of US flight attendants

Unruly passengers are seemingly on the increase in the United States, leaving some flight attendants bracing themselves for violent encounters in the sky as they try to cope with Covid-19 risks and maintain safety.

(CNN) — Working as a flight attendant previously afforded Mitra Amirzadeh the freedom to explore the world -- taking her from her home in Florida to destinations including Kenya, France and Spain. As the pandemic spread, the perks of Amirzadeh's job diminished. Now restricted to domestic US flights, her work involves navigating not only the fear of catching Covid-19, but also the recent uptick in disruptive passengers. "I'm dealing with a lot of babysitting, which I never counted on doing," Amirzadeh, who works for a low-cost US airline, tells CNN Travel. "The actual children on board behave better than the grown adults do."