It’s become clear that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies have had it with unruly airline passengers who refuse to follow federal laws.
In the last two weeks, three cases that began with a refusal to wear a face mask escalated into something far worse. In each incident, the offender is now facing a very stiff fine of five to six figures.
Exhibit A is a 24-year-old Colorado man who refused to wear a face mask and then stood up and urinated in his seat area, reported the Associated Press. The man now faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and attendants that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
The incident happened on March 9 on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver. After the flight landed, the passenger was arrested, according to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The affidavit says the passenger appeared to be trying to sleep but swatted at an attendant when she asked him repeatedly to put on his mask, as required by the FAA. Other passengers summoned attendants when he began urinating in his seat area.
The Colorado man told the FBI that he had several beers and “a couple of shots” before boarding the flight, fell asleep on the plane and “awoke to being yelled at by the flight attendants who told him he was peeing.” He was released on a $10,000 bond pending his next court appearance set for March 26, per the AP report.
A second incident involves a passenger who was caught on camera punching a Delta flight attendant in the face. Again, the incident started over a dispute about wearing face masks and then escalated. That incident happened on October 19, on Delta flight 1997 from Miami to Atlanta.
Before takeoff, a man “refused to wear his mask, secure his seat tray table, and fasten his seatbelt,” according to an FAA press release. After the plane returned to the gate, flight attendants then asked the man and his female traveling companion to voluntarily get off the plane.
“In response, the passenger accompanying the non-compliant traveler ignored the flight attendant’s instructions, began yelling expletives at the flight attendant and other passengers, and struck the flight attendant under her left eye,” said the FAA, which has proposed a $27,500 penalty for the female passenger.
Federal law prohibits interfering with aircraft crew, physically assaulting or even threatening to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft. Passengers who violate this law can be subject to civil penalties, criminal fines and imprisonment.
The third incident involves a passenger who, again, refused to wear a face mask and also would not stop drinking alcohol that he had brought on board a December 23 JetBlue flight bound for the Dominican Republic. The plane was forced to turn back to New York’s JFK airport, where it landed 4,000 pounds overweight due to the amount of fuel on board.
The FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $14,500 for the passenger. In a statement, the agency said the man “crowded the traveler sitting next to him, spoke loudly, and refused to wear his face mask.” Flight attendants warned the passenger twice that FAA regulations prohibit passengers from drinking alcohol they bring on board an aircraft.
In mid-January, the FAA adopted a stricter, zero-tolerance policy toward passengers who cause disturbances on flights or fail to obey flight crew instructions in violation of the FAA’s regulations or engage in conduct proscribed by federal law.
“The agency will pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members. This policy will be in effect through March 30, 2021,” according to the agency.
Historically, the FAA has handled unruly-passenger incidents using a variety of methods ranging from warnings and counseling to civil penalties. The days of warnings or counseling are over — at least through the end of the month.
(Forbes
