Passengers disembark after landing at Albuquerque International Airport on November 24, 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Passengers disembark after landing at Albuquerque International Airport on November 24, 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday directed federal prosecutors nationwide to prioritize the prosecution of airline passengers with assault and other crimes on board.
The directive comes on the same day that millions of Americans take to the skies to travel on Thanksgiving Day – and amid record levels of criminal behavior by plane passengers.
Federal Aviation Administration reported that as of November 23 There are 5,338 complaints against unruly passengers sent to the agency. There have been an additional 3,856 reported mask-related incidents where passengers caused COVID-19 mask rule issues.
Federal law prohibits interference with flight crews. That includes assaulting, threatening or threatening them while on board. Garland said in its memo that problematic passengers did more than attack staff.
“They prevent the performance of important missions that help ensure safe air travel,” he said. “Similarly, when a passenger engages in violent behavior toward other passengers in the close quarters of a commercial airliner, that behavior endangers everyone on board.”
American Airlines flight attendant Paul Hartshorn, Jr., spokesman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants told NPR earlier this month that the crews are mentally and physically exhausted after the past two years.
“We had the flight attendants push, punch, push to the floor and hit their heads on the handrails on the way down. Really, really serious injuries that we’re dealing with.”
On a recent flight, he said that a passenger repeatedly punched a flight attendant in the face, breaking her nose and other bones in her face. That passenger has been arrested and charged by federal authorities as the FAA is increasingly referring these cases to the FBI and Department of Justice for prosecution.
Garland’s memo documents dozens of cases that have been referred to the FBI by the FAA for investigation – all as part of an “information-sharing protocol” between the two agencies created to crack down on the phenomenon.
