Travel
Mask Disputes Lead To Assaults On IL Flight Attendants: FAA
The separate incidents, both stemming from a "face-covering dispute," took place on two flights headed to Illinois in August, the FAA said.
CHICAGO — The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to fine two airline passengers accused of assaulting flight attendants when asked to mask up on flights over the summer. The incidents happened on separate flights, both headed to Illinois in August.
In the first — which took place on an Allegiant Air flight from Clearwater, Florida, to Mascoutah, Illinois — a passenger screamed at and hit a flight attendant and grabbed the cabin phone while the attendant was speaking with the captain, according to the FAA. The altercation stemmed from a "face-covering dispute," administration officials said, and the pilot was forced to divert the flight as a result.
The FAA is seeking a $15,000 civil penalty against the passenger.
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The second incident took place on a Skywest Airlines flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chicago. In that case, the passenger removed their mask, bothered other passengers, and "grabbed a flight attendant's buttock as she walked by the passenger's row of seats," according to the FAA.
The administration wants that passenger to pay a $7,500 fine.
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"While the failure to wear a face covering is not itself a federal violation, federal law prohibits physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft," the FAA said in a news release. "Passengers are subject to civil penalties for such misconduct, which can threaten the safety of the flight by disrupting or distracting cabin crew from their safety duties. Additionally, federal law provides for criminal fines and imprisonment of passengers who interfere with the performance of a crewmember’s duties by assaulting or intimidating that crewmember."
It's not clear if the passengers have been or will be charged criminally in connection with the incidents. The FAA says it does not identify individuals against whom it proposes civil penalties.
Federal officials say both passengers will receive enforcement letters from the FAA and will have 30 days to respond.
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