The Federal Aviation Administration is fed up with passengers causing a scene mid-flight, as the agency announced fines for three people who drank too much drinks” target=”_blank”>alcohol< on Jan. 4.
One of the passengers, who was fined $31,750, allegedly drank his own alcohol, yelled and waved his hands at flight attendants after other passengers took issue with his disruptive behavior, and grabbed the arms of two different flight attendants during the trip.
Two of the passengers were on a jetBlue Airlines from Haiti to Boston on Jan. 4. (iStock)
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Another passenger on that same flight, who was fined $16,750, allegedly drank his own alcohol, then “yelled, shouted obscenities, and made motions to strike a flight attendant when they arrived at his seat in response to a complaint from another passenger.”
The last disruptive flier was on a route from Yuma, Ariz., to Dallas-Fort Worth, us-regions. The FAA says the passenger drank multiple 50 ml bottles of alcohol that he brought on the plane, then tried to touch a passenger sitting behind him and was combative with others. Two off-duty law enforcement officers had to wrestle him back into his seat and sit behind him to get him to simmer down.
Disruptive passengers are subject to civil penalties for misconduct on flights, which includes fines of up to $35,000.
The FAA announced a new “zero-tolerance” policy in January for unruly behavior amid a spate of disturbances over airlines’ mask policies.
That zero-tolerance policy was supposed to expire in March, but FAA Administrator Steve Dickson extended it until the CDC’s transportation mask policy goes away.
