FAA announces NEW fines against unruly airline passengers.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/05/politics/unruly-airplane-passengers/index.html


(CNN) — Federal authorities are planning to fine two unmasked and unruly passengers accused of hitting and grabbing flight attendants amid a rash of disruptive and sometimes violent incidents on board planes.

One passenger accused of grabbing and striking two flight attendants during a February flight faces a fine of $32,750, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN on Wednesday. A passenger on a different flight is accused of hitting "one of the flight attendants with his bags" and faces a $16,500 fine.

Altogether, the FAA on Wednesday disclosed four new fines against passengers from among 1,300 reports of passenger misbehavior sent in by flight crews in the past three months alone, a spokesman said. Investigators have so far identified violations in about 260 of those cases, and the four new fines bring the number of cases the FAA has described publicly since late 2020 to 13.

Reports from flight crews of unruly passengers used to be so infrequent that the FAA did not tally them, a spokesman said. But alarm grew within the agency as incidents appeared to climb. Instead of one report of a troublesome passenger every few days, flight crews were calling in with multiple issues daily, the spokesman said. At the same time, the number of passengers is significantly depressed -- still 40% below pre-pandemic levels, according to air carrier group Airlines for America.

*snip*

[Ocelot II]

1. Fewer people are flying, but more of them are assholes.

[tanyev]

4. Yep. A lot of the non-assholes who don't have to fly are still choosing not to.

[Grins]

2. To heck with fines. Instead - PRISON!

THAT will get their attention.

[SoCalNative]

3. Plus

they should be added to the no-fly list permanently.

[crickets]

5. Yikes. I was unimpressed with the idea of fines until I saw the amounts.

That and a no-fly list might get the jerks among us to sit down and be quiet for a change, at least on planes. Go, FAA.

[Coventina]

6. I am pro-ANYTHING that will get people to behave like responsible grownups on flights. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

7. Flying is a privilege that is not guaranteed.

This is overdue.