Violent attacks on flight personnel are increasing. In the event of an incident in the USA, the plane even has to make an unplanned stopover.
Washington – On an American Airlines flight, a first-class passenger went nuts and provoked an unplanned stopover. The traveler beat a stewardess until she was bleeding. Doug Parker, chief executive of the airline, spoke of “one of the worst displays of unruly behavior that we have ever seen.” The violent passenger will “never again be allowed to fly with American Airlines”, Parker guaranteed in a video message on Instagram.
The incident occurred on Wednesday (October 27, 2021) on a flight from New York to California. As witnesses reported to the US broadcaster ABC, the stewardess is said to have accidentally bumped into the passenger and apologized for it. Later, the passenger followed her to the galley – and hit her there twice.
American Airlines incident: Drunk passenger beats stewardess
As if nothing had happened, he then returned to his seat. According to the witnesses, the man was drunk when he attacked. After the attack, the man was handcuffed to a seat. In addition, a passenger told ABC that the flight attendant had “blood splatters on the outside of her mask”. The plane made a stopover in Denver because of the incident, according to Parker, the attacker was arrested there by the authorities. The stewardess came to the hospital, according to information from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, she has since been released.
American Airline brought in the FBI. According to Parker, they are also working with the FAA. The aviation authority in the US could impose fines of over 50,000 dollars (42,800 euros). According to its own statements, the FAA is now pursuing a “zero tolerance policy” – because attacks on flight personnel are on the rise.
Significantly more violence against personnel in aircraft
The main reason for the increased attacks in airplanes is the mask requirement due to the Corona * pandemic. This year, according to the FAA, there have been 4940 reports of “recalcitrant” passengers – 3580 of them in connection with the mask requirement. Over 920 investigations have been initiated. Compared to the numbers from 2020, shocking: In the entire past year, there were only 183 investigations.
Airlines consistently enforce the mask requirement, including Lufthansa: A family was excluded from onward flights at Frankfurt Airport because the two-year-old son was not wearing a mask. The first major airlines have already lifted the mask requirement – but only for domestic flights.
Numerous incidents on airplanes: Large parts of the flight attendants were affected
American Airlines boss Doug Parker calls for a halt to the violence in airplanes. According to a survey by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), 85 percent of flight attendants will have to deal with unruly passengers in the first half of 2021. Over half said they had experienced at least five incidents during this period. 17 percent reported “physical incidents”.
In August, a video of such a “physical incident” circulated online. A 22-year-old man thrashed out on a Frontier Airlines flight and was handcuffed to his seat during the flight. (spr) * fnp.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
