FAA’s $81,950 Fine Against Unruly Passenger

We have seen more unruly airline passenger behavior than before. The FAA introduced a zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior in order to combat this.

We have seen the agency propose fines against passengers, and on Friday the FAA proposed its biggest-ever fine.

FAA proposes biggest-ever fines against passengers

The FAA threatened to fine two passengers a total of 159,000 dollars for their behavior on two separate flights in July 2021.

A passenger is facing an $81,950 fine for a flight from Dallas to Charlotte on July 7, 2021. The FAA alleges that.

• The passenger threatened to hurt the flight attendant that offered help to the passenger after she fell into the aisle
• The passenger then pushed the flight attendant aside and tried to open the cabin door
• Two flight attendants tried to restrain the passenger, but she repeatedly hit one of the flight attendants on the head
• After the passenger was restrained in flex cuffs, she spit at, headbutted, bit, and tried to kick the crew and other passengers

There is a Delta Air Lines flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 16, 2021. The FAA alleges that.

• The passenger attempted to hug and kiss the passenger seated next to her, walked to the front of the aircraft to try to exit during flight, refused to return to her seat, and bit another passenger multiple times
• The crew had to physically restrain her

The passengers have 30 days to respond to the FAA letter.

Does the FAA’s zero-tolerance policy work?

The FAA has done a good job with its zero-tolerance approach to unruly passenger behavior. The agency only has so much power.

• The FAA has asked airport police to arrest more unruly passengers, as all too often they’re just questioned and let go, which makes it harder for these passengers to be charged
• At the end of the day the FAA can only propose fines, and then it’s up to the legal system to actually follow through with this; I’d imagine in a vast majority of instances passengers are only paying a small portion of the proposed fine

The FAA claims that it has reduced the rate of unruly passenger incidents by 60 percent, but that more work is needed.

• We’re seeing the FAA fine passengers roughly nine months after incidents actually occur, which doesn’t exactly seem like a very timely punishment (I get that the FAA has limited resources and lots of passengers to fine)
• I doubt many people who are in a state where they think it’s okay to bite another passenger would be impacted by a public awareness campaign, unfortunately
• I suspect a decrease in incidents can largely be attributed to society not quite being in the same fragile spot we were in over a year ago, between the election and coronavirus (which isn’t to say things are great, but I think they’re a bit less contentious than they were)

Bottom line

The FAA just announced the two biggest fines yet, and they are against passengers. A passenger is facing an $81,950 fine for her behavior on a July 2021 flight, where she pushed, hit, heatbutted, spat at, and INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals

I think the FAA is doing a good job of taking action against these passengers.

What do you think about the fines against passengers?