Travel News: FAA Adopts Stricter Unruly Flyer Policy

After the recent riots at the US Capitol, the Federal Aviation Administration has adopted a stricter unruly flyer policy.

In the last week, several incidents of unruly behavior by some passengers occurred on multiple airlines when the protestors were on the way to and from Washington.

Travel News: FAA Adopts Stricter Unruly Flyer Policy

FAA administrators signed the order that directed the agency to take strict action against any passenger who disrupts or threatens the safety of a flight.

The interesting thing is that passengers are given no warnings in this regard, and the action ranges from imposing penalties to a jail term.

The FAA issued a statement that several incidents had occurred in the recent past in which some passengers disrupted flights with violent behavior or threats of violent behavior.

While some passengers refused to wear masks, others clashed with fellow passengers due to the recent US capitol riots.

FAA administration said that flying was the safest mode of transportation, and they have implemented the order to keep it that way. Even in the past, the FAA has faced several such issues with regard to unruly passengers.

However, the way they handled it in the past was drastically different from the methods they plan to implement at this stage.

In the past, unruly passengers were given warnings and counseling in most cases. Apart from that, the extreme cases were even given civil penalties.

On the other hand, the administration seems to be in a serious mode with regard to recent incidents of unruly behavior after the US capitol riots.

They have imposed harsh penalties, and it will not come with any warnings. Apart from that, passengers can even be jailed if they indulge in violent acts and disrupt the flights.

The FAA order is effective immediately, and there will be no warnings given to passengers before taking action.

Apart from that, the earlier method of offering counsel to unruly passengers has been dropped, and such passengers would be directly penalized or sent to jail depending on the severity of their behavior. The policy is in effect through March 30, 2021.

The agency said that they would pursue legal action against passengers who threaten, intimidate or assault the airline crew members.

According to federal law, passengers could be subjected to penalties or jail term if they assault or threaten to assault the crew or other passengers on the aircraft.

The fines can go up to $35000 in some cases, and passengers also face the risk of imprisonment for such actions.

Alaska Airlines had recently said that they faced a lot of problems from several unruly passengers after the US capitol riots.

Most of them were not ready to wear masks, and they indulge in rowdy behavior with the crew members. Some of them argued and harassed the crew members and also caused inconvenience to other passengers.

Several other airlines also faced similar problems in recent days, and Delta Airlines removed two unruly passengers from flying.

In an interesting video circulating on social media, an American Airlines pilot warned passengers to put the plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump passengers if they did not behave. The warning came after several passengers chanted “Fight for Trump” slogans in the flight.

Apart from these actions, the TSA is also considering putting such unruly passengers on the no-fly list after consulting the security agencies.

When individuals are placed on the no-fly list, they will not be able to board an aircraft within the US. The TSA was on high alert as several intelligence reports claimed that there could be violent actions by some people during the Biden inauguration event at Washington.