FAA urges airlines to ‘take more action’ to tackle unruly passenger incidents

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday urged representatives of major US airlines to find ways to do more to help stop the tide of reported “unruly” passenger incidents – and asked them to deliver those plans within days.

The agency spoke to industry groups including Airlines for America and the Regional Airline Association, saying in a statement after the meeting that the FAA had “asked airlines to commit to take further action and tell the FAA in a week what additional steps they will take. implement over the next month to tackle unruly behavior, “according to Reuters.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson then tweeted, “Be clear: aviation safety is a collaborative effort. Thanks to @AirlinesDotOrg @RAAtweets and NACA for your continued partnership and substantial work to help reduce unruly behavior. We look forward to continuing our work together to protect passengers and crew. “

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Airlines for America did not respond to FOX Business’s request for comment before posting.

The FAA’s call for help from airlines is its latest move in cracking down on passengers who violate mask guidelines or who become violent on flights. Last month, Dickson wrote a letter last month asking airports to step up arrests when incidents are reported and to step up enforcement of alcohol-related offenses. The agency released a zero tolerance policy earlier this year and imposed heavy fines totaling more than $ 1 million on passengers found responsible for in-flight disruptions. The Biden administration recently decided to double those fines for mask violations.

There has been an unprecedented increase in reports of violent and disorderly passengers this year, fueled largely – but not entirely – by mask violations as frustrations mount over continued regulations to curb COVID-19 on commercial flights.

In one incident, a woman pushed past an air hostess who had asked her to wear a mask, and the FAA proposed a civil fine of $ 20,000 for the alleged violation. In another, a flight had to be hijacked because a passenger allegedly yelled at officers and started knocking on the cockpit door demanding that his seat’s phone charger be repaired.

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There have also been a number of incidents where travelers causing in-flight turbulence have been brought under control using unconventional methods. Earlier this year, a man accused of punching a male flight attendant and fiddling with two flight attendants while he was allegedly intoxicated on a robbery was finally taped to his seat in order to hold him back.

James Leggate, Ann Schmidt and Greg Norman of Fox News contributed to this report.