According to flight attendants, they have been subject to increasing verbal and physical abuses since the summer travel boom. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Union officials claim that a passenger punched an American Airlines flight attendant twice in his face.
According to the airline's CEO, the company was working to ensure that the attacker is "prosecuted as fully as possible."
This is just one of a slew of abuses that attendants have endured since the summer surge in travel.
After being attacked by a passenger, an American Airlines flight attendant was taken to the hospital with broken bones.
Flight 976 was attacked while flying from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. American Airlines stated that the plane was diverted to Denver after the incident and that the passenger was taken into custody.
According to CBSLA, the flight attendant bumped into the passenger and then punched her twice in front of the galley. Officials from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants cited witnesses from the plane.
Mackenzie Rose, a witness to the incident, stated that the flight attendant returned down the aisle with blood on her mask.
Another witness stated that there was a doctor on board the flight, who assessed the injury. ABC News reported that the doctor said the attendant's nose was not broken but that it was bleeding.
Julie Hedrick, president of APFA, stated that the attendant initially apologized for bumping into her in the first-class cabin. However, that didn't stop him attacking her, The Washington Post reported.
Doug Parker, American Airlines CEO, stated that the assault was "one among the most unruly behaviors we've ever seen" in a video statement.
Parker stated that the airline barred the offending passenger from flying, and added that a travel ban was not sufficient punishment.
"We will do everything possible to ensure that he is tried to the fullest extent." He said that we are also working with FAA, which has the authority to levy penalties of more than $50,000 to disruptive passengers." He was referring to Federal Aviation Administration.
Continue the story
Insider's Allana Ashtar reported that flight attendants in the US were subject to a surge in verbal and physical abuse as a result of US travel exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Many said that violence caused mental distress and created an abusive work environment.
Hedrick stated that he had never been attacked by passengers like this, in reference to Wednesday's incident, The Post reported.
"I believe that flight attendants who are going to work today will feel the mental exhaustion of wondering 'what's going to happen?' She added that you don't know what will happen on your flight today.
Insider has the original article.
