Some Airlines Are Considering Taking Passengers Off The B-List

Christmas may be a ways off, but a few airlines have decided to take passengers off the naughty list! Prior to COVID-19, unruly passenger behavior was a thing. 

Still, once the mask mandates kicked in, several passengers kicked up a fuss, going so far as to physically or verbally assault flight crews, with incidents increasing to the point of becoming a regular occurrence. As a result, some 4,000 passengers were banned by airlines over the past year, and others were hit with more than $30,000 in fines!

Of the airlines self-reporting on the number of passengers banned, here’s what the numbers looked like for the top three: Delta (1,200), Frontier (830), United (750). In the authors’ opinion, the numbers should not be taken as complete since there are a number of factors that can influence these figures, and an apples-to-apples comparison cannot be readily drawn. Two carriers (American and Southwest) do not report that information. On a case-by-case basis, some of the domestic airlines that have elected to give the unruly a second chance at flight, taking into account egregious behavior, including Alaska, Delta, United. Airlines holding the line include American (may reconsider at some point) and Southwest (no reprieve).  

Proof that unruly behavior shows no sign of abating, even though the mask mandates were lifted earlier this month, was further reinforced on 26th April 2022 when a passenger in the first-class cabin of a Delta Airlines flight disobeyed pre-takeoff instructions, forcing the flight attendant to ‘resolve’ the situation by retracting the seat themselves. The unruly passenger subsequently proceeded to assault a flight crew member when he was refused a second alcoholic beverage.

FMI: https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-levies-largest-fines-ever-against-two-unruly-passengers