The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a civil penalty of $165,000 against Alaska Airlines for allegedly allowing intoxicated passengers to board its flights.
In a press release on Tuesday, the agency alleged that Alaska Airlines allowed intoxicated passengers to board 11 flights from February 2024 to February 2025. That makes each infraction around $15,000 each.
Under FAA regulation 14 CFR § 121.575(c), airlines should prohibit “any person to board any of its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.” In addition to this, the airline needs to report alcohol-related passenger disturbances within five days.
Training and Compliance Measures
Good news for Alaska: the penalty is not yet final. It has 30 days to respond. This means the airline may contest, settle, seek a reduction, or have the penalties dropped. If the airline fails to reply within 30 days, the fine becomes enforceable.
Flight attendants are usually responsible for monitoring passenger behavior when they board the aircraft. But with many domestic flights having only three flight crew members, this typically leaves just one flight attendant at the front of the plane. And the lone crew member has a lot of things going on, from checking First Class catering to delivering pre-departure beverages.
Then there’s the rise of self-check-in machines that minimize a traveler’s interaction with airline employees. Many are boarding planes without enough interaction with an employee who can observe their behavior.
Alaska responded that it has implemented enhanced training for its flight attendants and customer service agents.
In a statement, the airline said, “We respect the results of the FAA’s audit and are confident in the changes that have been in place for the last year to ensure our shared standards are being met.”
Other Airlines Under Scrutiny
It’s not just Alaska Airlines facing penalties. Other airlines are also under scrutiny, as the FAA also penalized Southwest Airlines and American Airlines $304,000 and $255,000, respectively, for employee drug and alcohol violations.
