Airline Head Wanted US Passengers Guilty of In-Flight Violations Barred from Travel Industry-Wide

News outlets have latched on to "a previously unreported letter" from Delta executive officer Ed Bastian to the  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland which reportedly exhorts the law enforcement arm to place disruptive passengers on the no-fly list.

The executive said the action "will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft." 

The stir-crazy atmosphere of 2020 has continued onward unabated in 2021, with higher rates than ever before of unruly or disruptive passenger behavior. Last year, 5,981 reports were logged by the FAA, owing to the widespread mask mandates throughout the travel system. Nearly 72% of issues were the result of mask-related disputes. The majority of 2021 saw the use of zero tolerance policies for poor behavior, skipping any interim behavioral interventions in favor of immediate penalty of fines and jail time. The original mask mandate throughout the travel system was slated to end in March of 2021, but has been extended to at least the sunset of the federal mandate. 

The issue has caused considerable grief in the airline transit system, as travelers are forced to cancel, reroute, or prematurely end flights to deal with problem passengers. Bastian told the Attorney General that his company had placed nearly 2,000 people on its own internal no-fly list, saying the move was vital to protect their interests as well as the safety and security of its personnel and passengers. Whether or not it could expand to become an industry standard - where a ban on one becomes a ban on all - is a debate to be held. Some say that stressful pandemic travel requirements, added to the mental pressure cooker of travel, and the diminishing social cohesion after months of lockdown can result in one-off incidents that don't reflect someone's long-term risk to fellow travelers. Bastion seems to see things from the other end of the aisle, perhaps if not to punish those who do disrupt flights, but to provide a stronger deterrent to those who refuse to comply with orders. 

FMI: www.delta.com