Dozens of ‘unruly’ passengers face over $500,000 in fines proposed by FAA – Miami Herald

Dozens of “unruly” passengers could face more than half a million dollars in fines proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday.

The 34 passengers are accused of a long string of recent flight disturbances, including throwing luggage, refusing to stay seated during flights, not complying with the federal face mask mandate, assaulting fellow passengers, and threatening to kill a flight attendant, the FAA said in a news release. These “egregious cases” occurred between December 2020 and May 2021.

While the FAA does not have authority to prosecute crimes, these proposed fines are part of its Zero Tolerance for Disruptive Passengers campaign.

Previously, the FAA handled unruly passengers with warnings and civil penalties, the agency said in an earlier statement. This new “Zero Tolerance” policy permits the FAA to “pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members.”

The policy was enacted after an uptick in passenger-related incidents on flights. It was scheduled to end in March 2021 but was extended by the FAA the same month.

“The number of cases we’re seeing is still far too high, and it tells us urgent action continues to be required,” the agency said at the time.

Since Jan. 1, FAA has received almost 4,000 reports of “unruly behavior by passengers,” the FAA said Thursday. Of those, almost 3,000 are connected to passengers who refused to comply with the federal mask mandate for air travel.

Thursday’s proposed fines of $531,545 bring the FAA’s civil penalty total to over $1 million in 2021.

The largest penalty is a $45,000 fine that could be levied against a passenger who flew from New York to Orlando on JetBlue Airways in May. The passenger is accused of “allegedly throwing objects, including his carry-on luggage, at other passengers; refusing to stay seated; lying on the floor in the aisle, refusing to get up, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.”

Flight crew members placed the passenger in flexible cuffs and made an emergency landing in Virginia.

The second proposed fine of $42,000 is also against a passenger who flew JetBlue in May. This passenger, flying from Queens to San Francisco, is accused of “allegedly interfering with crewmembers after failing to comply with the facemask mandate; making non-consensual physical contact with another passenger; throwing a playing card at a passenger and threatening him with physical harm; making stabbing gestures towards certain passengers; and snorting what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag, which the cabin crew confiscated.”

The passenger was removed from the plane after a stop in Minnesota.

Another fine of $32,500 was prompted by a Southwest flight from Orlando to Kansas City in January. The passenger is accused of “allegedly assaulting passengers around him because someone in his row would not change seats to accommodate his travel partner.”

The passenger was met by law enforcement at the gate after leaving his flight, and Southwest banned him from future flights.

The smallest fine proposed Thursday is $7,500. This civil penalty is against a JetBlue passenger who flew from Boston to Miami in January. The passenger “allegedly threatening to kill a passenger seated in front of him,” the FAA said.

Passengers who received the FAA’s enforcement letter have 30 days to respond. The agency did not identify the passengers with the proposed civil penalty fines.

“Federal law prohibits interfering with aircraft crew or physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft. Passengers are subject to civil penalties for such misconduct, which can threaten the safety of the flight by disrupting or distracting cabin crew from their safety duties,” the FAA said. “Additionally, federal law provides for criminal fines and imprisonment of passengers who interfere with the performance of a crewmember’s duties by assaulting or intimidating that crewmember.”