Flight attendants are calling for a federal no-fly list for unruly passengers to be urgently established after an American Airlines was violently assaulted and had her nose broken in an unprovoked attack. American Airlines says it is “outraged” by the attack and is pushing for criminal prosecution with the FBI taking the lead on the investigation.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) which represents around 24,000 crew members at the Dallas Fort Worth-based airline says it is pushing both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transport (DOT) to set up a national ‘no-fly’ list for unruly passengers.
At present, there is no federal register of unruly passengers although there is a very limited ‘no-fly’ list for terrorism suspects and other persons who may represent a threat to national security.
In an unusual move, American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker took to Instagram to confirm that the passenger accused of repeatedly punching a flight attendant in the face on a New York JFK to Orange County flight on Wednesday would never be allowed to fly with the airline again.
Witnesses claim the suspect attacked the flight attendant because she had accidentally bumped into him and then immediately apologized. During the flight, the suspect approached the flight attendant in the galley, struck her several times in the face and then sat back down as if nothing had happened.
“On Wednesday evening we had one of the worst displays of unruly passenger behavior we have ever witnessed when a passenger violently, physically assaulted an American Airlines flight attendant. Let me assure you, American Airlines will not tolerate airport or inflight misconduct of any kind, particularly toward our crew members or airport team.”
“As for this individual, I can guarantee you he will never be allowed to fly American Airlines again.”
A travel ban, however, won’t stop the suspect from flying with any other airline.
Ed Bastian, the chief executive of Delta Air Lines has also suggested setting up a centralized no-fly list where a ban from one airline would mean a ban from all airlines. The list could either be managed by the FAA and DOT or by the airlines who decide to take part in the scheme.
Delta has banned more than 1,600 passengers since the start of the pandemic – the majority for failing to comply with the airline’s face mask rules.
The idea of a centralized no-fly list was raised after the FAA put airlines on notice to drive down unruly passenger behavior or face sanctions. The idea, however, hasn’t been progressed and Parker seems sceptical of the suggestion.
While noting that the latest unruly passenger will be banned from traveling with American ever again, Parker says “the best deterrent is aggressive criminal prosecution”. In many cases, however, suspects escape prosecution – it’s unclear why so many suspects don’t end up in court but it’s believed confusion over agency jurisdiction is a big factor.
The maximum sentence for interfering with or assaulting a crew member is 20 years imprisonment but this charge is rarely brought against unruly passengers.
