A woman from California pleaded guilty on Wednesday to punching a flight attendant in the face and chipping her teeth, as part of a surge in violent behavior by airline passengers in the past year.
The woman, Vyvianna M. Quinonez, was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants. She could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The assault happened at the end of the Southwest Airlines flight. The flight attendant asked Ms. Quinonez to put up her tray table and wear her facemask.
Ms. Quinonez pushed the flight attendant after filming her on her phone.
The attack got worse as captured on video by another passenger.
The flight attendant was punched in the face multiple times by Ms. Quinonez, who was sitting in an aisle seat. She grabbed the hair of the flight attendant before she was able to get back up the aisle. The passengers tried to stop Ms. Quinonez by grabbing at her clothes.
The man jumped between the flight attendant and Ms. Quinonez.
He said in the video that he should sit down.
It was not clear what Ms. Quinonez said in the video. She pulled up her mask because it hadn't been covering her nose.
The man said in the video that he wouldn't touch the flight attendant.
The flight attendant covered her face as blood streamed from her left eye. Multiple passengers yelled at Ms. Quinonez as she walked away from the galley. One woman said that a child was in front of Ms. Quinonez.
The flight attendant was taken to the hospital with injuries that included a swollen eye, a bruised arm and a cut under her eye. She had to have two of her teeth replaced with crowns.
Southwest Airlines did not make a comment on Wednesday.
Ms. Quinonez will be sentenced on March 11. It was not clear if Ms. Quinonez had a lawyer or not.
The flight attendant who was attacked was doing her job, according to the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. It is unacceptable for anyone to use violence on an airplane.
Southwest and American Airlines suspended alcohol service on flights after the attack in order to stop unruly passenger behavior.
The Federal Aviation Administration has received about 5,700 reports of unruly passengers, including more than 4,100 reports of passengers refusing to comply with a federal mandate that they wear masks on planes.
Several passengers have been fined tens of thousands of dollars this year for clashing with airline crews over safety instructions. The agency imposed a zero-tolerance policy for interfering with or assault flight attendants that could result in a fine of up to $35,000 and jail time.
The new policy is not enough according to some. In October, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants called on the F.A.A. and the Department of Transportation to implement a central registry so that all U.S. airlines could ban rowdy passengers.
The association said that they needed to keep pushing. Increased fines for egregious behavior, and stronger criminal penalties are needed.
