Anyone who causes an airliner commotion anymore has to accept whatever punishment results.

So the man wasn’t a terrorist and was just “upset.” Whatever the reasons for his recent effort to force his way into an airliner cockpit, he has to suffer whichever injuries and penalties occur and merits no sympathy, not in today’s troubled world.

An unruly passenger, a Uruguayan, on a United Airlines flight to Buenos Aires tried to get into the plane’s cockpit and managed to smash part of the reinforced door before a co-pilot clubbed him with an ax. He probably got off easier than he deserved.

After the initial surge, other crew members and several passengers began wrestling with Pablo Moreira, 28, a banker, and restrained him for the rest of the flight. Sadly, a flight attendant received minor injuries in the melee.

There will be some who contend that “excessive force” was used on Moreira, but after the Sept. 11 airliner atrocities and tensions involving security since, the man is fortunate he was not hurt worse, even killed.

After people have learned about the need for forceful action in a hurry on troubled airliners, there is a greatly increased vigilance by passengers and crew members. The co-pilot proved to be quite charitable in using the flat side of the ax to subdue the Uruguayan. Few would have been too critical had he relied on the sharp edge.

There is no margin for error anymore in such incidents. Whether the errant passenger or passengers are disturbed or intent on doing harm, they all have to be treated like criminals willing to sacrifice themselves and others for some obtuse “cause.” We’re told that Moreira does not like to fly and that he gets upset about being in the air. He should have taken a ship, then.

Rather than feeling sorry for the Uruguayan, we should be pleased with the deportment of the crew and the other passengers, who acted along the lines of those who attacked terrorists over Pennsylvania when their target was a Washington landmark.

There are no more “fun and games” or “pranks” allowed where airplane security is concerned. If you happen to get upset and unruly or might want to do harm to others, you have to accept what you get be it restraint, injury or death.

There should be zero tolerance for “fooling around” with head cases such as this.