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The FAA is urging airport police to arrest more unruly or violent people on flights and is asking airport bars and restaurants to stop serving take-out alcoholic beverages.
RELATED: Frontier Airlines Says ‘We Support’ Crew Who Held Man On Philly-Miami Flight
“Even though FAA regulations specifically prohibit the consumption of alcohol on board an aircraft that is not served by the airline, we have received reports that some airport concessionaires have offered alcohol. “take out,” “FAA administrator Steve Dickson wrote to airport executives nationwide. “And the passengers think they can carry this alcohol on their flights or they get intoxicated.”
Agency investigations into the resurgence of aggressive behavior on board have shown that alcohol is often a contributing factor.
“Airports can help raise awareness of this ban on passengers carrying alcohol on their flights through signage, public service announcements and dealer education,” Dickson said.
Some major US airlines, including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have banned the purchase of alcohol on board until the mask’s mandate expires. It is currently in place until mid-September.
Southwest was asked to make the switch in June after an unruly passenger allegedly pulled out the two front teeth of a flight attendant.
“Certainly, with the number of incidents, you can tell why flight attendants would be wary of resuming selling alcohol on the plane,” Lyn Montgomery, spokesperson for the union, told ABC News. represents Southwest flight attendants.
Alcohol was reportedly a factor in one of the most recent unruly passenger incidents on Saturday on a Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Miami.
RELATED: Passenger Tied Up After Allegedly Assaulting Flight Attendants On Philly-Miami Flight
The 22-year-old had at least two drinks on the flight, authorities said, before allegedly groping two flight attendants and punching a third flight attendant in the face.
The crew used duct tape to secure the man to his seat for the duration of the flight.
He was arrested when the plane landed in Miami and now faces three battery counts.
But not all unruly passengers face criminal charges, the FAA said.
“Although the FAA has imposed civil fines on unruly passengers, it does not have the power to pursue criminal cases,” Dickson told airport officials.
The agency has received more than 3,700 reports of unruly passengers since January, including more than 2,700 involving airmen refusing to wear masks.
He said he saw numerous passengers – some who had physically assaulted flight attendants – questioned by local police and then released “without criminal charge of any kind”.
“When this happens, we miss a key opportunity to hold unruly passengers accountable for their unacceptable and dangerous behavior,” he said.
The FAA still enforces its zero tolerance policy for in-flight disruptions that could result in fines of up to $ 52,500 and up to 20 years in prison. The agency has examined more than 628 potential violations of federal law so far this year – the highest number since the agency began keeping records in 1995.
The largest union of flight attendants in the United States doubled down on its call last week for the FAA and the Department of Justice to “protect passengers and crew from disruptive and verbally and physically abusive travelers.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told ABC News that “interference with flight crew members is a serious crime that deserves the attention of federal law enforcement.”
“As in all cases, we exercise the discretionary power of prosecutors to decide which cases to indict at the federal level,” the spokesperson continued. “Factors include severity of offense, lives at risk, impact on victim, mental health, did the plane have to make an unscheduled landing, was it a recurrence , are there any mitigating factors, etc. This is a serious crime with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
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