The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed another nearly a quarter-million dollars in fines for unruly passenger behavior aboard flights, saying they identified at least ten people who allegedly committed acts that involved physical assaults on flight staff or other passengers.
In total, the FAA levied $225,287 in civil penalties for the ten unnamed passengers, with the fines ranging from $9,000 to $32,000. The amount of unruly passenger fines recommended by the agency this year alone topped $1 million in August.
“Since Jan. 1, 2021, the FAA has received more than 100 reports of passenger disturbances involving physical assault,” the agency wrote in a Wednesday press release, adding: “The FAA lacks criminal prosecutorial authority but has referred cases to the Department of Justice where the evidence supports criminal review.”
It’s a federal crime to “assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmember’s duties aboard an aircraft being operated.” Many of the recent, legally actionable incidents were due to passenger intoxication, while others stemmed from passenger’s alleged refusal to comply with federal mask-wearing mandates.
Since the start of 2021, the FAA has received over 5,100 reports of unruly passenger behavior, with 3,710 incidents of passengers refusing to wear masks. To date, the FAA has launched 973 investigations, and initiated 239 enforcement cases.
Last week, the FAA said it has referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since the number of disruptions on flights began to spike in January.
The highest penalty in the FAA’s most recent spate of recommendations stems from an incident that occurred on May 18 aboard a Horizon Air flight from Austin, Texas, to San Francisco, Calif. The FAA alleged that the woman “did not follow crew instruction to fasten her seatbelt.”
“She punched and screamed at her husband and son, repeatedly, diverting flight attendants from their duties,” the FAA further alleged. “She threw trash at a flight attendant, and snatched cookies from a nearby passenger.”
The lowest fine was sparked by an incident on March 20 during an American Airlines flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Indianapolis, Ind. A passenger allegedly “stomped and/or kicked the feet of the passenger seated behind him” as the plane descended, leading the pilot to request police meet the man at the arrival gate.
The passengers listed in Wednesday’s release — none of whom were identified by name — have 30 days from when they received the FAA notice to respond.
The FAA announced stricter enforcement policies in January of this year, originally aimed to deal with passenger disturbances on flights around the time of the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C.
“The FAA has seen a disturbing increase in incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior,” the agency said in a statement on Jan. 13. “These incidents have stemmed both from passengers’ refusals to wear masks and from recent violence at the U.S. Capitol.”
In response, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson announced the agency would adopt a strict “zero-tolerance policy” against passengers who violate federal law when disrupting a flight. While the agency previously dealt with unruly passengers through a variety of methods — including verbal warnings, civil penalties, and counseling — the FAA will now move directly to legal action.
