Delta Asks Justice Department to Put Unruly Passengers on 'No Fly' List

Washington, DC (WorkersCompensation.com) – Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastain, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to create a “no fly” list for unruly passengers. 

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Bastian asked for support in banning passengers who were convicted of federal offenses related to on-board disruptions. 

Bastian said national action to ban unruly passengers from all commercial flights would send a message to aviation customers about consequences for not following crew member instructions. 

"In addition to the welcome increase in enforcement and prosecutions, we are requesting you support our efforts with respect to the much-needed step of putting any person convicted of an on-board disruption on a national, comprehensive, unruly passenger 'no-fly' list that would bar that person from traveling on any commercial air carrier," Bastian wrote to Garland. "This 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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 4,290 mask-related incidents, and imposed more than $1 million in civil penalties against unruly passengers in 2021. So far this year, the FAA has recorded more than 320 incidents of unruly passengers. Of those 205 were face mask-related incidents.   

Bastian said unruly passenger incidents aboard its planes have increased by nearly 100 percent since 2019. The airline has its own “no fly” list with more than 2,000 former passengers who refused to wear a mask on it. The airline has also submitted nearly 1,000 of those passengers to the Transportation Security Administration to pursue civil penalties.   

On Monday, an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles was diverted to New Mexico after a male passenger threatened a flight attendant.  

According to witnesses, a passenger boarded the plane with his wife and 4 children and asked fellow passengers to switch seats when the family was not seated together.  

Witnesses said during the flight that the unattended children were running up and down the aisle of the plane. When passengers complained, one of the flight attendants to get him to stop. When the flight attendant approached him, witnesses said, he told the crew member “I have your information, I will find you and I will shoot you.”   

In a transmission to Albuquerque Air traffic Control, one of the pilots said, “there was a verbal threat that was a level three.” The pilots then declared an emergency and landed around 10:30 p.m.  

And on Wednesday, a Frontier Airlines flight from New York City to Orlando was diverted to Raleigh, N.C. after a passenger became unruly.   

Airport officials said a passenger began complaining that the woman in the seat behind him was trying to steal his DNA by sticking him with a needle. As he became more and more agitated, he started to threaten other passengers, eventually telling flight attendants he would kill everyone on board.   

The passenger was restrained by other passengers, one of whom worked in law enforcement, until the plane landed. Law enforcement, fire rescue and EMS responders were waiting when the plane landed and the passenger was escorted off the plane.   

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told CNN that placing unruly passengers on a federal no-fly list is something the administration needs consideration.   

"I think we need to take a look at it. Look, the airlines are often doing their own internal no-fly list. Some of them have spoken about maybe coordinating on that, and we're looking at these policy recommendations as well," Buttigieg said.  

Last year, Delta asked other U.S. airlines to share their internal no-fly lists so all airlines could protect their crew members from people who have previously assaulted another crew member on another airline.   

In May, a California woman assaulted a flight attendant. She now faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Vyvianna M. Quinonez, 28, was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants, following an incident on a Southwest flight from Sacramento to San Diego.   

Quinonez was not wearing a mask, unbuckled her belt and pulled down her tray table during the plane’s final descent. When a flight attendant asked her to comply with the regulations, Quinonez pushing and punching the attendant resulting in her losing two teeth and a cut under her left eye. 

In December, Quinonez pleaded guilty to the charges. She will be sentenced in March.  

Other violent incident left flight attendants injured in 2021.   

In November, a woman attacked two flight attendants on a Spirit Airlines flight to Nashville.   

Airport police arrested a 42-year-old woman for public intoxication after the incident. Crew members told officers the woman had attacked two flight attendants, punching one and pulling the other’s hair.   

And in October, a passenger on a flight from JFK to Santa Anna, Cal. was duct taped to a seat after allegedly punching a flight attendant in the face. The man was refusing to wear a mask and when a flight attendant insisted he wear one, he punch them. The plane was diverted to Denver, where the passenger was met by law enforcement.   

In November of last year, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed state attorneys general to make prosecuting unruly passengers a priority.