On an Alaska Airlines flight from Washington, DC to Seattle last week, a number of passengers refused to wear masks and crew members were harassed, the airline said. In response, Alaska has banned 14 passengers on Thursday’s flight – just part of a growing number of disruptive passengers airlines set up their own no-fly lists. And now the Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it will take legal action against such behavior in the future.
Alaska Airlines calls those passengers “rowdy” and “quarrelsome” in a statement that since August it has banned more than 300 passengers for violating its mask policy.
“Their behavior was unacceptable. Due to their actions and non-compliance, we excluded 14 of those passengers from future travel with us,” the airline said. “We apologize to our other guests who have been uncomfortable during the flight. We will not tolerate any inconvenience on board our aircraft or at any of the airports we serve.”
The lists compiled by individual airlines – other than the federal no-fly list, which aims to keep suspected terrorists out of the air – have grown to more than 2,700 people, CBS News has confirmed. The no-fly time grew mask requirements put in place because of the coronavirus. Most flight bans will last until that mask policy is suspended at the end of the pandemic.
Many of the bans occurred in the past week, following the violent riot in the Capitol.
The injunction signed Wednesday by FAA administrator Steve Dickson means that unruly passengers will no longer receive a warning or escort, which the agency said was common in such incidents.
“The FAA has seen a disturbing increase in incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior. These incidents are the result of both passengers’ refusal to wear masks and recent violence in the US Capitol,” the announcement said. FAA.
Although American Airlines declined to disclose the number of banned customers, the airline confirmed that it had added customers to its internal banned list of flights to and from DC in the past week, including a passenger who refused to wear a mask on a Sunday flight in a viral video.
“We are working closely with local law enforcement and airport authority partners to ensure the safety of our customers and team members on the ground and in the air,” the airline said in a statement Thursday. “We also have more staff at airports in the Washington DC area and as a precautionary measure will not serve alcohol on flights to and from this area. We will continue to enforce policies that ensure the safety and well-being of our customers and team members.”
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the U.S. flight attendants’ union, said it has set up a hotline for members to report these encounters, which they told CBS last week a union member was harassed with racial swear words while riding a hotel shuttle to Reagan National Airport and another were harassed by passengers who refused to wear their masks on board the plane.
A United Airlines spokesperson said they had banned 60 people in the past week, and Alaska Airlines confirmed it had banned 32 people.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents nearly 50,000 attendees from 17 airlines, including United and Alaska, called the behavior “a new kind of threat in the air” in communication with its members.
“The mob behavior that took place yesterday on several flights to the DC area was unacceptable and threatened the safety and security of every person on board,” Sara Nelson, the union’s international president, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Some of the people who traveled in our planes yesterday participated in the uprising at the Capitol today,” she said. Their violent and inflammatory actions in the Capitol today are further concerns about their departure from the DC area. Acts against our democracy, our government and the freedom we claim as Americans should disqualify these individuals from the freedom of flight . “
Delta Airlines has removed two people from a flight from DC to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Friday, and an American Airlines pilot scolded passengers on a Friday flight for their unruly behavior.
The Federal Aviation Administration sent passengers a reminder on Thursday about unruly behavior in the air, warning that it could lead to jail time and a fine of up to $ 35,000.
Airport failures have prompted authorities to step up security at airports and on board planes, a government security source who has been briefed on the matter to CBS News – including additional air marshals on flights to and from the three airports in the National Capitol region, and officers from the gates of flights to those airports.
Video shared on social media after the riot showed airport protesters confronting Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican who condemned the attacks and criticized President Trump; Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also a Republican; and Representative Lou Correa, a California Democrat.
CBS News has confirmed that airports across the country are improving security and increasing police presence in their terminals following the violence in the Capitol.
U.S. Capitol Police also provide information on agents to Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport to help escort arriving and departing Congressmen.
By the numbers
CBS News asked US airlines how many passengers have been banned since the introduction of mask requirements and compiled the answers below. While two of the largest carriers declined to provide figures, the total is over 2,700 people.
Alaska: 302
Allegiant: 15
American: refused to disclose
Delta: more than 700
Border: more than 500
Hawaiian: 56
JetBlue: 144
Spirit: 432
Southwest: refused to disclose
United: 615