Unruly passenger behavior continues to be a problem for airlines in the United States. With the situation not clearing up any time soon, Delta Air Lines has urged carriers to come together and form a national ‘no fly’ list.
A challenging period
Tensions have been rife in society over the last year and a half or so. As a result, Delta has added over 1,600 people to its forbidden list. Nonetheless, the Atlanta-based carrier is not alone in this struggle. In the year since the pandemic started, more than 4,000 passengers have been banned across US industry.
As a result of these conditions, Delta’s leadership sent a memo to flight attendants, sharing that it is urging fellow carriers to react to the ongoing problem. There is already a ‘no fly’ list related to national security, but the airline is looking for additional measures to address wider issues.
“We’ve also asked other airlines to share their ‘no fly’ list to further protect airline employees across the industry — something we know is top of mind for you as well,” wrote Kristen Manion Taylor, Delta’s senior vice president of in-flight services, as shared by The New York Times.
“A list of banned customers doesn’t work as well if that customer can fly with another airline.
New tensions
Several incidents surrounding aggressive behavior have revolved around the wearing of masks. Notably, Delta itself had over 700 passengers banned for refusing to wear a mask by September 2020. Moreover, mask tension has even led to threatening and physical passenger behavior on the aircraft.
The federal aviation administration (FAA) has been determined to address these unpleasant incidents. Even before the Biden administration signed off an order related to the mandatory of wearing face masks on planes at the start of 2020, FAA Administrator Dickson approved an order to fine unruly passengers or those who attack, threaten or intimidate crew members.
This summer, the FAA proposed nearly $65,000 in fines against five passengers due to their behavior on carriers across the US. However, incidents have been prevalent throughout the summer, with passenger delays becoming increasingly common due to disruptive passengers. Subsequently, the FAA has asked US operators to scale up action to combat unruly behavior. The organization met up with market stakeholders about the issues.
Both authorities and airlines have even implemented measures to cut down the sale of alcohol across the passenger journey. Some operators won’t even bring the alcohol service back till next year.
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Concerning figures
Altogether, angry passengers have become a political issue. The United States House of Representatives House Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing on “Disruption in the Skies: The Surge in Air Rage and its Effects on Workers, Airlines, and Airports” yesterday.
Here, it was noted that since January this year, the FAA has logged 4,284 unruly passengers reports, 3,123 mask-related incidents, 755 investigations initiated, and 154 enforcement cases. So, there is plenty of work to be done to ease the situation in this field.
Simple Flying reached out to Delta Air Lines for comment on these reports. We will update the article with any further announcements from the carrier.
What are your thoughts about Delta seeking a national ‘no fly’ list? Do you feel that this would be a good move for the industry? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
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