On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), met with top U.S. airline and industry officials to urge them to do more against the ugly rise in passenger incidents that has seriously hampered air travel's return to demand.
The FAA released a more diplomatic statement following the meeting and stated that it had requested airlines to take additional action against disruptive passengers.
The FAA has given airlines just one week to inform them of any additional steps they intend to take to curb the increase in poor passenger behavior. These steps must be taken within the next month in order to curb unruly passenger incidents.
At the request of top FAA officials, the meeting included representatives of the trade group Airlines 4 America, which represents American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines. It also represents jetBlue and Southwest Airlines.
Representatives from several airlines were also present, as was the Regional Airline Association (RAA) and the National Air Carrier Association (NAA).
The FAA received 4,386 reports from passengers complaining of unruly behavior since the beginning of the year. 789 investigations were initiated. The FAA has so far taken enforcement action in 162 cases. However, with a zero tolerance policy, the agency has already penalized disruptive passengers with more civil penalties than $1 million.
Face mask violations are the main cause of 72% of all unruly passenger incidents. The dramatic rise in violent incidents onboard has also been caused by alcoholism and mental illness.
American Airlines and Southwest already have committed to delaying the return of onboard alcohol service to try to reduce the risk from an incident at 38,000ft. However, the Southwest flight attendants union has asked the airline to go even further.
When investigating incidents of air rage, give Flight Attendants the benefit-of-the doubt. In an open letter, Gary Kelly, Southwest chief executive, TWU Local 556, said that you should stand by us and trust our word. He also suggested that other carriers collaborate with him to demonstrate collective force.
Southwest should offer flight attendants paid leave to take self-defense classes offered by TSA crew members.
After it became clear that unruly passengers were not being criminally charged due to confusion over jurisdiction, Steve Dickson, FAA administrator, asked airport police departments for more arrests. Dickson asked airports to prohibit alcohol from being consumed in an effort to decrease drunkenness at U.S. airports.
Dickson, who acknowledged Tuesday's meeting with U.S. carriers, stated: Let me be very clear: Aviation safety requires collaboration.
