FAA steps up enforcement against unruly airline passengers
3 years, 11 months ago

FAA steps up enforcement against unruly airline passengers

Associated Press  

Federal safety officials said Wednesday they stepping up enforcement against unruly airline passengers after confrontations on flights to and from Washington, D.C., around the time of the riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. The Federal Aviation Administration said there has been “a disturbing increase in incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior. These incidents have stemmed both from passengers’ refusals to wear masks and from recent violence at the U.S. Capitol.” The FAA said under an order signed by Administrator Stephen Dickson, unruly passengers will no longer get warnings. “This will help serve as a deterrent to unruly passengers who had been bucking the rules of aviation safety.” The FAA said it has pursued more than 1,300 enforcement actions against passengers in the past 10 years.

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History of this topic

American Airlines Fined $50 Million for Wheelchair Violations
2 months ago

American Airlines Fined $50 Million for Wheelchair Violations

CNN  

American Airlines has been fined $50 million by the federal government for numerous violations of disabled passenger rules. The investigation found that American mishandled and damaged thousands of wheelchairs and failed to provide adequate assistance to disabled passengers, causing significant safety issues and an inconvenience for customers.

FAA refers 43 reported abusive, unruly plane passengers to FBI, even as incidents fall from COVID highs
3 months, 3 weeks ago

FAA refers 43 reported abusive, unruly plane passengers to FBI, even as incidents fall from COVID highs

LA Times  

Passengers wait for their flights inside the new West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. The agency announced that it has referred 43 cases of unruly passengers to the FBI during the past year, bringing the total to more than 310 since late 2021. The agency established a zero-tolerance policy in 2021 after disruptive incidents …

FAA sent 43 more cases of unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible prosecution
4 months ago

FAA sent 43 more cases of unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible prosecution

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say they are referring fewer unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible prosecution than they did during the pandemic, although they say the number of incidents remains too high. The FAA said the rate of passenger misbehavior has dropped by more than 80% since early 2021, when many confrontations with flight attendants and other passengers …

Unruly airplane passengers disrupting more flights, despite FAA’s zero-tolerance policy
1 year, 6 months ago

Unruly airplane passengers disrupting more flights, despite FAA’s zero-tolerance policy

LA Times  

People pass through Salt Lake City International Airport in January. Federal officials referred more than 250 unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution in April, including one in March, when a man tried to stab a flight attendant with a broken-off spoon. shows that unruly-passenger incidents on airplanes increased 47% from 2021 to 2022, from one incident …

Flying ban on unruly passengers should be at airline’s discretion: Air India CEO
1 year, 8 months ago

Flying ban on unruly passengers should be at airline’s discretion: Air India CEO

The Hindu  

Airlines in India should have the power to ban an unruly passenger unilaterally like in other countries instead of following a complicated process, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said. He also asked why the police had not yet taken action in last week’s incident, when a male passenger brutally punched a member of the cabin crew and grabbed another by …

Sensitise pilots, cabin crew on handling unruly flyers, says DGCA
1 year, 8 months ago

Sensitise pilots, cabin crew on handling unruly flyers, says DGCA

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued an advisory on Monday, asking all airlines to sensitise pilots and crew members on handling unruly passengers amid a recent rise in such incidents. The regulator also pointed out that in the recent past, it has noticed a few incidents such as smoking in aircraft, consumption of alcoholic beverages resulting in …

Unruly passengers: DGCA issues advisory to airlines, reiterates norms to deal with such incidents
1 year, 8 months ago

Unruly passengers: DGCA issues advisory to airlines, reiterates norms to deal with such incidents

The Hindu  

Aviation regulator DGCA on April 10, 2023 issued an advisory to airlines reiterating the existing provisions in place to deal with unruly passengers. The advisory comes against the backdrop of rising incidents of unruly passengers onboard flights and also on a day when a male passenger was deboarded by Air India from a Delhi-London flight for causing physical harm to …

Experts for stricter punishment to tackle instances of unruly behaviour on flights
1 year, 11 months ago

Experts for stricter punishment to tackle instances of unruly behaviour on flights

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Air India's handling of an incident in which an inebriated male flier allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger suggests an urgent need for stricter rules to deal with unruly passengers, according to legal and aviation experts. Supreme Court lawyer Ujjawal Anand Sharma said lodging an FIR in all cases of unruly behaviour by passengers onboard flights should be …

Watch: Flyer punches flight attendant mid-air; banned for life, 20 yr jail on cards
2 years, 3 months ago

Watch: Flyer punches flight attendant mid-air; banned for life, 20 yr jail on cards

Firstpost  

There were 146 investigations into unruliness on planes initiated in 2019. Alexander Tung Cuu Le, of Westminster has been banned for life California: A 33-year-old man from was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly punching a flight attendant in the back of the head during an American Airlines flight from Mexico to Los Angeles, US media reported. The accused Alexander …

Delta asks DOJ to put unruly passengers on no-fly list
2 years, 10 months ago

Delta asks DOJ to put unruly passengers on no-fly list

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Any person convicted of a disruption on board a flight should be added to the national “no fly” list, Delta Air Lines told the U.S. Department of Justice. In a letter to the Justice Department Attorney General Merrick Garland dated Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said there should be “zero tolerance” for any behavior that affects flight …

Violent airline passengers fined more than $200,000 by FAA
3 years, 1 month ago

Violent airline passengers fined more than $200,000 by FAA

CNN  

CNN — Federal authorities have slapped 10 violent airline passengers with nearly a quarter-million dollars in new fines for shouting, spitting, screaming, shoving and throwing punches onboard commercial flights. The Federal Aviation Administration fines total $225,287, the second biggest announcement of fines for unruly passengers since the agency enacted a no-tolerance policy earlier this year. The FAA fined a Southwest …

FAA has referred 37 air passengers for criminal prosecution
3 years, 1 month ago

FAA has referred 37 air passengers for criminal prosecution

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration says it has referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since the number of disruptions on flights began to spike in January. The FAA said the cases referred to the FBI are among 227 this year in which it has begun enforcement action that could lead to …

FAA has sent only 37 unruly passenger cases to DOJ
3 years, 1 month ago

FAA has sent only 37 unruly passenger cases to DOJ

CNN  

CNN — The Federal Aviation Administration – which cannot prosecute violent airline passengers – has sent only 37 of the more than 5,000 passenger complaints this year to the Justice Department, highlighting a significant challenge when it comes to enforcing the strict rules for the increasingly unruly skies. In a rare joint statement issued first to CNN, the two agencies …

American Airlines plane is diverted after a passenger assaults a flight attendant
3 years, 1 month ago

American Airlines plane is diverted after a passenger assaults a flight attendant

NPR  

American Airlines plane is diverted after a passenger assaults a flight attendant Enlarge this image toggle caption David Zalubowski/AP David Zalubowski/AP A passenger who assaulted a flight attendant aboard an American Airlines jetliner bound from New York to California on Wednesday caused the plane to divert to Denver in what a witness suggested was an altercation over a mask requirement. …

Huge uptick in pandemic 'air rage' hits flight attendants
3 years, 3 months ago

Huge uptick in pandemic 'air rage' hits flight attendants

Raw Story  

Flight attendants have been subject to unprecedented harassment over masks and more during the pandemic, and a U.S. House panel on Thursday heard the raw details of those “air rage" incidents. While there are no hard data, the leader of the flight attendants' union said the most aggression appears to occur in Southern states where there's been pushback against mask …

Unruly passengers risk flight safety, FAA warns
3 years, 4 months ago

Unruly passengers risk flight safety, FAA warns

CNN  

CNN — Federal authorities want passengers to know that thousands of violent outbursts on commercial flights are not only a problem for flight attendants, but they distract pilots from keeping the entire flight safe. In a Tuesday public service announcement video released first to CNN, the Federal Aviation Administration says, “You don’t want your pilots distracted. Unruly behavior doesn’t fly.” …

American Airlines will not serve alcohol on flights until 2022
3 years, 4 months ago

American Airlines will not serve alcohol on flights until 2022

CNN  

CNN — American Airlines says it will not serve alcohol in the main cabin of its flights until January 18, 2022, when the US mask mandate on public transportation is now set to expire. American suspended alcohol service in the main cabin of its flights earlier this summer, but planned to resume service on September 13 when the transportation mask …

FAA proposes more than $500,000 in new fines against unruly airline passengers
3 years, 4 months ago

FAA proposes more than $500,000 in new fines against unruly airline passengers

CNN  

CNN — Federal authorities are proposing more than a half-million dollars in new fines against commercial airline passengers they say refused to wear masks, hit flight attendants and even threw luggage across the cabin. House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio told CNN this week that he would like to see punishment that’s even harsher than fines, with those accused of in-flight …

Fines For Disruptive Plane Passengers, Often Over Masks, Have Reached $1 Million
3 years, 4 months ago

Fines For Disruptive Plane Passengers, Often Over Masks, Have Reached $1 Million

NPR  

Fines For Disruptive Plane Passengers, Often Over Masks, Have Reached $1 Million Enlarge this image toggle caption Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images Officials have already fined unruly airline passengers upward of $1 million in civil penalties this year, and many of those citations are related to aggressive refusal to wear masks as required by federal …

Airline passenger duct-taped to seat after groping and punching flight attendants
3 years, 4 months ago

Airline passenger duct-taped to seat after groping and punching flight attendants

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors …

Airlines, unions demand crackdown on unruly passengers
3 years, 6 months ago

Airlines, unions demand crackdown on unruly passengers

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Airlines, flight attendants and pilots are calling for the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute unruly and violent passengers. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Monday, the trade group Airlines for America and unions for pilots and flight crew cited a “substantial increase in and growing escalation of passengers’ unruly and disruptive behavior onboard aircraft, particularly toward …

Opinion: Why the explosion in unruly air passengers?
3 years, 6 months ago

Opinion: Why the explosion in unruly air passengers?

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Since January, the Federal Aviation Administration recorded approximately 2,900 reports of “unruly behavior by passengers” – which comes out to almost 18 incidents per day. Trump even slammed Fox News Laura Ingraham at an …

Unruly skies: Union chief highlights airline passenger misconduct
3 years, 7 months ago

Unruly skies: Union chief highlights airline passenger misconduct

Al Jazeera  

There have been 2,500 incidents involving unruly airline passengers this year, says the US Federal Aviation Administration, including 1,900 cases in which passengers refused to wear face masks. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant was assaulted by a passenger and lost two teeth in an attack in the United States last weekend, according to a union president, who complained to the …

Passenger fined $10,500 after blowing his nose into a blanket on flight
3 years, 7 months ago

Passenger fined $10,500 after blowing his nose into a blanket on flight

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It has been a legal requirement for travellers in the US to wear a face covering on a plane since …

Consider imposing fines on passengers not wearing masks 'properly': DGCA to airports
3 years, 8 months ago

Consider imposing fines on passengers not wearing masks 'properly': DGCA to airports

India TV News  

Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday told airports to consider imposing spot fines, with the help of police authorities, on passengers who are found not wearing masks properly and not maintaining social distancing as per the COVID-19 rules. "All airport operators, therefore, are requested to ensure that the instructions on COVID-19 protocol from the standpoint of wearing face mask properly, covering …

For flight attendants, getting people to wear masks is now one of the hardest parts of the job
3 years, 11 months ago

For flight attendants, getting people to wear masks is now one of the hardest parts of the job

CNN  

CNN — Masks have become a matter of course on airplane flights, and unfortunately, so have ugly confrontations about wearing them. “Enforcing mass compliance has been one of the most difficult parts of our job,” says Allie Malis, a flight attendant for American Airlines and a government affairs representative for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. “We’re considered essential workers, …

Passenger removed from American Airlines flight has been temporarily banned by the airline
4 years, 6 months ago

Passenger removed from American Airlines flight has been temporarily banned by the airline

CNN  

CNN — After becoming the first known case of someone kicked off a flight due to refusal to wear a mask Wednesday, an American Airlines passenger has now become the first to be temporarily banned by an airline. Passenger Brandon Straka was asked to get off a flight from New York to Dallas after he refused to wear a face …

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