No, air marshals aren’t on every U.S. flight

The U.S. government employs law enforcement officers called air marshals to deter hijackings and protect passengers on commercial airlines. One VERIFY reader texted us to ask if there are undercover marshals on every flight in the United States.

THE QUESTION

Is there an air marshal on every flight in the U.S.?

THE SOURCES

• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Maryville University
• Stanford University
• U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

THE ANSWER

No, there isn’t an air marshal on every flight in the United States.

WHAT WE FOUND

An air marshal is a federal law enforcement officer who flies aboard commercial aircraft to protect passengers and flight crews. They’re armed and typically undercover so they don’t tip off terrorists or other bad actors, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) says.

Air marshals can arrest passengers who commit crimes during flights and typically watch passengers for suspicious behavior. If someone poses a danger to other passengers, the air marshal can step in and use force if necessary, VCU says.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the “sky marshals,” a special force within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) trained to protect passengers from air piracy, was established in 1962. After Sept. 11, 2001, the air marshals became a part of the newly created TSA, and are now known as the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS).

There were just 33 air marshals at the time of the 9/11 attacks, and today FAMS “has grown to employ thousands,” the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a 2022 blog post. The exact number of air marshals is considered “sensitive security information” by U.S. law and is therefore not public.

But even with thousands of air marshals, there are many more thousands of flights in the U.S. each day than can be covered by air marshals, said a 2020 report by the GAO. 

According to the FAA, there are 45,000 flights in the U.S. on an average day. There are as many as 5,400 aircraft in the sky at the same time during peak operational times, the FAA says.

While air marshals aren’t on every flight, they are authorized to fly on planes of any U.S. air carrier, Maryville University says. However, the 2020 GAO report notes that air marshals are not allowed to fly on planes of foreign flagged carriers, or airlines based in other countries.

That means, even when these airlines arrive or depart from an American airport, federal air marshals may not fly on planes operated by airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada or All Nippon Airways, all of which are on a Stanford University list of foreign flagged air carriers. Air marshals from other countries may still be on these flights.

The 2020 GAO report says nonstop, long-distance flights, such as the flights used in the 9/11 attacks, are considered a priority and may be flagged as high risk by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which oversees the air marshals.

Air marshals are trained to maintain anonymity and blend in with passengers on flights, VCU says. So you probably won’t know if there’s an air marshal on your flight.

While the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations requires air marshals to identify themselves to the flight crew before the flight, aircraft operators must not share “the presence, seating, names and purpose” of federal air marshals on a flight to the rest of the passengers.

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