‘Show respect:’ Biden blows up travelers who harass flight attendants for face masks

“If you break the rules, be prepared to pay,” Biden said, speaking from the White House. “And by the way, show some respect. The anger you see on TV towards flight attendants and other people doing their jobs is bad. It’s ugly.”

The flight attendant comments came as Biden gave a speech about his tough new vaccine rules for federal workers, large employers and healthcare workers as part of a new push to contain the latest wave of Covid-19.

The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans, according to the White House, and represent Biden’s strongest push to date to demand vaccines for much of the country.

More than 4,000 alleged face mask violations have been reported to the Transportation Safety Administration this year, spokeswoman Jessica Mayle told CNN. Most of those incidents have at least resulted in a warning letter being sent, and the TSA has so far referred 126 to the civil fine process, she said.

The requirement is now in place until mid-January and applies to planes, trains and buses, as well as hubs like airports and train stations. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the announcement Thursday that authorities “will continue to enforce the mask’s mandate for as long as necessary to protect public health and safety.”

TSA civil penalties are separate from fines imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration on passengers who act on airplanes. About three-quarters of the 4,184 unruly passenger incidents reported separately to the FAA involve alleged violations of the mask’s mandate.

TSA administrator David Pekoske admitted to CNN in an interview on Wednesday that in-flight disruptions are sometimes triggered by the face mask warrant, and that he is particularly concerned about those that escalate into physical assaults.

“This is a big concern for me and I know it is a big concern for all travelers,” he said.