Photo: ELEONORE SENS / AFP / Getty Images
Of the approximately 5, 000 reports of unruly behavior by passengers from commercial airlines received during this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has so far submitted 37 incidents to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for criminal review , according to CBS News.
Referrals are in addition to civil penalties – more than $ 1 million proposed this year – for misbehavior in the skies and any criminal charges submitted by local authorities. And more referrals from the FBI could come as the FAA continues to investigate the reports received.
The FAA and the Department of Justice have worked together since August to develop an “efficient method of taking legal action in the most egregious cases,” those federal agencies said Thursday in a joint statement shared with CBS News.
“Let this serve as a warning and deterrent: yes disrupts a flight, you risk not only fines from the FAA, but also federal criminal prosecution, ”said FAA Administrator, Steve Dickson , in the statement.
Until Thursday, the FAA has investigated 950 of the 5, 033 incidents reported, including 3, 642 related to mask ace. So far, it has started the execution of sanctions in 227 cases.
When the evidence supports criminal review, the FAA refers cases to the FBI, which sends those that merit possible prosecution to field offices for further investigation, according to the release. Dickson had said in an August letter to airport officials that “many of these passengers were interviewed by local police and released without criminal charges of any kind.”
The FAA implemented a policy of tolerance zero for bad behavior in January, and Dickson told senators on Wednesday that although misbehavior rates, which skyrocketed during the pandemic, have fallen, the agency “still has a long way to go.”
“What we are focusing on now is closing the seams between how airlines and airports and law enforcement and the federal government handle these issues and we have made good progress, but we have more to do.” said Dickson.
Two incidents already reported as crimes
The Department of Justice announced criminal charges in the past week in two separate passenger incidents allegedly assaulting flight attendants .
A federal grand jury in Seattle indicted Ryan Cajimat of 21 years of interference with members flight crew and attendants, as well as assault within a special aircraft jurisdiction derived from a Christmas Eve incident of 2020 on a Delta Airlines flight from Honolulu to Seattle.
B rian Hsu, by 20 years, he was accused of interference with a flight crew and assault within the United States special aeronautical jurisdiction due to what the CEO of American Airlines , Doug Parker , called “one of the worst manifestations of rebellious behavior we have ever witnessed,” which resulted in the flight from New York to Orange County, California being diverted to Denver.
In addition, each airline maintains its own internal travel ban list, which is separate from the federal No-Fly list . The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) of the federal government of USA. Contains the names of people who are not allowed to board a commercial aircraft to travel to or from the United States.
Delta Airlines, which said it has banned more than 1, 600 passengers since the federal government began requiring passengers to wear masks , has asked airlines to share their lists.
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