There have been 2,500 incidents involving unruly airline passengers this yr, says the US Federal Aviation Administration, together with 1,900 instances wherein passengers refused to put on face masks.
A Southwest Airways flight attendant was assaulted by a passenger and misplaced two enamel in an assault in the USA final weekend, based on a union president, who complained to the airline’s CEO about unruly passengers.
“Sadly, this is only one of many occurrences,” mentioned the union president, Lyn Montgomery. She mentioned there have been 477 incidents of “misconduct” by passengers on Southwest planes between April 8 and Might 15.
Montgomery didn’t present particulars concerning the assault within the letter she despatched Monday to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. The airline didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned Monday that airways have reported 2,500 incidents of unruly passengers this yr, together with 1,900 instances wherein passengers refused to put on face masks, that are required by federal guidelines. The FAA supplied these numbers because it introduced it was searching for civil penalties totaling $54,500 towards 5 passengers for behaviour starting from refusing to put on masks to assaulting flight attendants.
Montgomery requested the Southwest CEO to foyer for placing extra federal air marshals on flights and to ban passengers who violate guidelines as a substitute of placing them on different flights. She mentioned flight attendants are involved about Southwest resuming the sale of alcohol on board planes. Many current instances which have caught FAA’s consideration involving passengers who have been ingesting.