FAA Expands Zero Tolerance Policy for Unruly Passengers

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it would continue to crack down on unruly passengers and spread the zero-tolerance policy it introduced in January. Airlines have reported more than 500 cases since the end of December, the agency said.

Most of those cases involved travelers who refused to wear face masks, which both airlines and the federal government need for commercial air travel, the FAA said.

“I have decided to expand the FAA’s unwieldy zero-tolerance passenger policy while we continue to do everything we can to deal with the pandemic,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement. “The policy mandates our security inspectors and attorneys to take strong enforcement action against any passenger who disrupts or threatens the safety of a flight, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. The number of cases we see is still far too high,” and it tells us that urgent action still needs to be taken. “

The FAA will maintain its zero-tolerance policy for as long as the federal mask mandate is in effect.

According to federal data, the number of unruly passenger cases per capita increased in 2020. Flight attendants’ unions have raised concerns about unruly travelers, particularly after the pro-Trump riot in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“Administrator Dickson’s strong position for zero tolerance in January supported us and this is no time to lower our watch,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents approximately 50,000 cabin crew on more than a dozen airlines.

“The patchwork, politically skewed discussion about masks has created confusion and conflict,” she said in a statement. “We don’t have time to fail to comply with the federal mask mandate. On an airplane, that behavior puts everyone at risk and we can’t stand it.”