As the number of unruly passengers increased during the pandemic, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged travelers to respect flight attendants and crew members. He said that “The flight crew and other workers you encounter, they’re doing their job”. He added that “They’re following regulations and they’re there to keep you safe”.
Transport Secretary Buttigieg also reminded the public that there are serious fines and enforcements. Currently, there’s a zero-tolerance policy on unruly passengers. On top of that, the mask mandate is in effect until September 13.
The CDC may have updated its guidelines on fully vaccinated people allowing them to remove their masks in most situations. However, the federal mask requires everyone to wear masks on planes, buses, and trains. Transport Secretary Buttigieg continued that these policies are driven by public health considerations.
Civil Penalties and Hefty Fees
Some passengers were already fined thousands of dollars due to their bad behavior on board. Some were even arrested and charged.
Buttigieg’s warning took place after FAA announced that it is proposing a $15,000 fine against five passengers that exhibited unruly behaviors on board. This includes assaulting flight attendants.
Southwest Airlines last week reported a case of a woman named Vyvianna Quinonez who assaulted a flight attendant. The flight attendant lost two teeth in the process. Quinonez allegedly ignored safety instructions before physically assaulting the flight attendant. The woman was then charged with felony battery by the San Diego Harbor Police shortly after.
Due to the number of unruly passengers on airlines, Southwest and American Airlines delayed plans to sell alcohol on board. Just how bad is the problem? According to FAA, from January 1 to May 24, there’s approximately 2,500 reported cases of unruly passengers. Out of that total number of cases, 1,900 were violations against the federal mask mandate.
This is an alarming trend since the agency used to not pay close attention to these statistics. Over the years, the numbers of unruly passengers were consistently low to be a cause of concern. But as domestic travel bounces back as more people get vaccinated, it’s a serious drawback that needs to be addressed.