An American Airlines flight headed to California rerouted to Denver on Wednesday night after a passenger assaulted a flight attendant. Flight 976 flew from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport when an altercation happened onboard.
According to American Airlines, the police arrested the passenger at the gate. However, the airline didn’t issue a statement regarding the flight attendant’s condition.
In a statement written by American Airlines, “Acts of violence against our team members will not be tolerated by American Airlines”. It also added that “The individual involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with American Airlines in the future, but we will not be satisfied until he has been prosecuted to the full extent of the law”.
According to Denver Airport Police, the FBI is investigating the case. The American Airlines flight left Denver to Orange County at around 9:30 PM.
Assaulted Flight Attendants
There were several cases of passengers attacking flight attendants since the start of the pandemic. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency investigated 923 cases of unruly passengers for this year. The number jumped from 183 last year and 146 in 2019. According to the agency, the most number of investigations initiated by the FAA from 1995 to the present was in 2004 with 310 cases.
The FAA already received 4,941 reports of unruly passengers for this year alone. 3,580 cases involved passengers not wearing their masks properly. Also, the FAA issued a zero-tolerance policy on unruly behavior. It means that unruly passengers will no longer receive a warning. They could face criminal prosecution or fines of as much as $35,000.
In May, a passenger assaulted a flight attendant on a Southwest flight. The Southwest flight attendant lost two teeth after the passenger punched and grabbed her hair. According to court documents, the flight attendant asked the passenger to fasten her seatbelt and stow her tray table and wear her mask properly. However, according to court documents, the passenger justified her actions and said that she acted in self-defense.
