18 USC 37: Violence at International Airports, Penalties and Scope

Under 18 U.S.C. 37, penalties for violence at an international airport reach 20 years in federal prison for the base offense, and any term of years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty if the offense results in a death.¹ The statute is narrower than its reputation suggests. It targets intentional violence and destruction carried out with a device, substance, or weapon at airports serving international civil aviation, not every disruptive incident at every terminal.

What Section 37 Actually Punishes

The statute reaches two categories of conduct. The first is an act of violence against a person at a covered airport that causes or is likely to cause serious bodily injury or death. The second is destroying or seriously damaging airport facilities, damaging a civil aircraft that is not in service and is located at the airport, or disrupting airport services.¹ Either way, the conduct must endanger, or be likely to endanger, safety at the airport.

Section 37 also requires the use of “any device, substance, or weapon.” That element matters. A bare-knuckle fistfight in a terminal is criminal conduct, but it does not neatly fit the statute. Section 37 was written for the more serious scenarios: someone detonating an explosive, deploying a chemical agent, or using a weapon to attack people or destroy infrastructure.

Attempts and conspiracies to commit either type of prohibited act are covered as well, even if no one is actually harmed and no property is damaged.¹

The Penalty Structure

Section 37 carries two tiers.

For the base offense, up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine, or both. This covers violent acts causing or likely to cause serious bodily injury, destruction of airport facilities, disruption of airport services, and attempts or conspiracies to do any of these.¹
If death results from the offense, the penalty rises to imprisonment for any term of years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty.¹

The statute contains no mandatory minimums. The 20-year and life figures are ceilings, and sentencing judges work within them. It also contains no separate lower tier for threats without violence; those are covered by different statutes discussed below.

Because the statute says offenders “shall be fined under this title,” the general federal fine provisions of 18 U.S.C. 3571 apply. Fines for an individual convicted of a felony can reach $250,000.²

Mandatory Restitution

A Section 37 conviction qualifies as a crime of violence, which triggers mandatory restitution under 18 U.S.C. 3663A. The court must order the defendant to reimburse identifiable victims for physical injuries and financial losses, including medical expenses and lost income.³ Restitution is not discretionary and is imposed on top of any prison sentence and fine.

Which Airports Are Covered

Section 37 applies only at airports “serving international civil aviation.” The statute does not define that phrase separately. It draws directly from the 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports, which supplemented the 1971 Montreal Convention on aviation safety. Congress enacted Section 37 to fulfill U.S. obligations under that treaty, and the statute took effect on November 18, 1994, the date the Protocol entered into force for the United States.¹

Hundreds of U.S. airports handle at least some international flights and are therefore within reach. A small regional airfield with no international service falls outside the statute. Violence at a purely domestic airport can still be prosecuted federally, most often under 18 U.S.C. 32, which covers destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities and has no international-service limitation.⁴

When Federal Jurisdiction Reaches Overseas Conduct

Federal jurisdiction under Section 37 applies in two situations. The first is straightforward: the prohibited conduct occurs inside the United States. The second reaches acts committed abroad if the offender is later found in the United States, or if either the offender or a victim is a U.S. national.¹

That extraterritorial reach reflects the statute’s treaty origins. The 1988 Protocol obligates signatory nations either to prosecute airport attacks or to extradite offenders, and Section 37’s jurisdictional language allows the United States to prosecute someone who attacks an airport overseas and then enters the country.

What Prosecutors Must Prove

A conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt on several elements.

Intent. The statute requires the defendant to have acted “unlawfully and intentionally.” Accidents and misunderstandings do not qualify. Prosecutors need to show a deliberate choice to commit the violent act or cause the destruction, and circumstantial evidence, including prior statements, planning materials, and digital communications, frequently carries this element.

Instrument. The violence must involve a device, substance, or weapon. This is the element that distinguishes Section 37 from general assault statutes and reflects the statute’s design against attacks on aviation infrastructure.

Location and endangerment. The act must occur at an airport serving international civil aviation and must endanger, or be likely to endanger, safety there. Trivially disruptive conduct that poses no genuine safety threat falls short even at a covered airport.

What Section 37 Does Not Cover

Section 37 is one piece of a broader federal framework, and several types of airport misconduct that people assume it reaches are actually charged elsewhere. Knowing the difference matters, because the penalties are not the same.

False Threats and Hoaxes

Making a bomb threat at an airport is not charged under Section 37. It falls under 18 U.S.C. 35 or 18 U.S.C. 1038. Section 35 punishes willfully conveying false information about an attempted crime against aircraft or airports with up to five years in prison.⁵ Section 1038 covers broader hoaxes involving false information that could reasonably be believed about a violation of aviation security laws. Penalties scale: up to five years for the base offense, up to 20 years if serious bodily injury results, and up to life if someone dies. Section 1038 also requires the defendant to reimburse emergency response costs.⁶

Assaulting a TSA Officer

Attacking a TSA officer at a checkpoint is typically charged under 18 U.S.C. 111, which covers assaulting anyone performing federal duties. A simple assault carries up to one year. If the assault involves physical contact or intent to commit a felony, the maximum rises to eight years. Using a deadly weapon or inflicting bodily injury raises the ceiling to 20 years.⁷

Interfering With Flight Crew

Violent conduct directed at flight crew members or attendants on board an aircraft falls under 49 U.S.C. 46504. Assaulting or intimidating crew in a way that interferes with their duties carries up to 20 years, and if a dangerous weapon is involved, any term of years or life.⁸ This is the correct charge for assaulting a flight attendant on a plane at the gate, not Section 37.

Laser Pointers

Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft or its flight path is a separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 39A, carrying up to five years.⁹

The Labor Dispute Carve-Out

Section 37 contains an unusual exclusion: it bars federal prosecution for conduct occurring during or in connection with a labor dispute, so long as that conduct is already prosecutable as a felony under the state’s own laws.¹ The carve-out does not make the conduct legal. It channels the case to state court.

Collateral Consequences

Trusted Traveler Disqualification

A conviction tied to airport threats can end eligibility for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and similar programs. Federal regulations list certain offenses as permanently disqualifying, including making threats about explosives or lethal devices at public transportation systems and government facilities. Other felony convictions carry an interim disqualification: no application if the person was convicted within the past seven years or released from incarceration within the past five.¹⁰

TSA Civil Penalties

Criminal prosecution under Section 37 does not displace TSA civil enforcement. The TSA can impose civil fines separately, and for an individual not operating a commercial aircraft, penalties currently reach up to $17,062 per violation and up to $100,000 per enforcement action.¹¹ TSA enforcement guidance flags certain violations for criminal referral alongside civil penalties, including bringing loaded firearms through checkpoints, possessing explosives, and fraud or intentional falsification of security documents.¹²

No-Fly List

Placement on the federal No-Fly List is not automatic on a Section 37 conviction. The list is maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center and operates on a reasonable suspicion standard. A conviction can support that determination, but it does not by itself trigger placement.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 37 – Violence at International Airports
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
3
govinfo. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 32 – Destruction of Aircraft or Aircraft Facilities
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 35 – Imparting or Conveying False Information
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 111 – Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers or Employees
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 46504 – Interference With Flight Crew Members and Attendants
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 39A – Aiming a Laser Pointer at an Aircraft
10
eCFR. 49 CFR 1572.103 – Disqualifying Criminal Offenses
11
Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation
12
TSA.gov. Enforcement Sanction Guidance Policy