The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration has responded to a new wave of violently unruly behavior among airplane passengers.
The fines are part of the FAA’s Zero Tolerance campaign against unruly behavior on U.S. carriers. The FAA doesn’t have criminal prosecutorial authority in these matters, but the agency has asked airports to coordinate more closely with local law enforcement to prosecute passengers whose behavior veers into criminal behavior.
Worst Of The Bunch: Among the most egregious cases cited by the FAA are:
- A $45,000 fine against a JetBlue Airways passenger on a May flight for allegedly throwing objects including his carry-on luggage, lying on the floor in the aisle, then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt. The passenger was placed in flexi-cuffs and the flight was forced to make an emergency landing. in Richmond, Virginia.
- A $42,000 fine against a passenger on another JetBlue flight in May for allegedly interfering with crewmembers after failing to comply with the facemask mandate, making non-consensual physical contact with another passenger, throwing a playing card at a passenger and threatening him with physical harm, making stabbing gestures towards certain passengers and snorting what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag, which the cabin crew confiscated. The passenger was also secured in flex cuffs and that flight was forced to make an emergency landing.
- A $32,500 fine against a Southwest Airlines passenger in January for allegedly assaulting passengers around him because someone in his row wouldn’t change seats to accommodate his travel partner.
- A $30,000 fine against a passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight in January for allegedly attempting to gain entry to the flight deck by physically assaulting two flight attendants and threatening to kill one of them.
- A $29,000 fine against a JetBlue passenger on an April flight who refused to comply with the facemask mandate, shouted obscenities at the flight crew and intentionally bumped and then punched a seated passenger in the face.
