Reuters
Published Sep 21, 2021 02:17PM ET
Updated Sep 21, 2021 09:21PM ET
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday urged U.S. passenger airlines "to commit to take more action" to address reports of violent or unruly passengers.
The agency said it had asked airline trade groups at a meeting on Tuesday to disclose within a week what steps they will take to curb such incidents. The FAA said the industry is facing a record number of airline passenger disturbances, and it plans to soon hold similar meetings with representatives from airports and labor.
The meeting with groups, including Airlines for America, a group representing American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines and others, discussed "ways the industry can work together to reduce the number of unruly passenger incidents," the FAA said, adding it "believes additional action by the airlines and all aviation stakeholders is necessary to stop the unsafe behavior."
On Monday, two senior U.S. Senate Democrats urged Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to prosecute unruly air passengers.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said "civil penalties alone are failing to deter criminal activity by airline passengers."
In June, Airlines for America and aviation unions also asked Garland to prosecute disruptive and violent air passengers.
To date this year, there have been 4,385 reports of unruly passenger incidents, including 3,199 that were mask-related. The FAA has initiated enforcement actions in 162 cases, issuing more than $1 million in proposed fines.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson imposed in January a zero-tolerance order on passenger disturbances aboard airplanes after supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump were disruptive on flights around the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. That policy will extend until at least as long as federal mask rules on airplanes are in place, which were extended last month into mid-January 2022.
Separately, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on unruly passengers.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.