- Why each passenger was fined and how much each passenger was fined in total
- the FAAs “Zero Tolerance” policy
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing another round of fines against airline passengers for offensive and combative acts. These acts include refusing the comply with the federal mask mandate to an apparent sexual assault accusation. In total, the FAA totalled a fine of $531,545 in civil penalties on Thursday, an amount that is the FAA’s largest proposal of fines against passengers since the start of the “Zero Tolerance” policy. These fines were given to 34 passengers, one of which was given a fine of $45,000 in civil penalties alone. This passengers had forced an emergency landing on a JetBlue flight because he threw an object at another customers, including his own carry-on luggage as well as lying in the aisle of the plane. He is also being accused of putting his head up a flight attendants skirt resulting in the restraint of the passenger with hand cuffs.
Another passenger was fined $42,000 for allegedly refusing to wear a mask and threatening physical harm against other passengers. The FAA says the passenger allegedly made “non-consensual physical contact” with another traveler, made “stabbing gestures” toward others, and appeared to be snorting cocaine from a bag. The flight’s crew placed the “increasingly agitated” passenger in flex cuffs and armed themselves with ice mallets in self-defense. The FAA has so far fined passengers over $1,000,000, collectively, since enacting its zero-tolerance policy in January. At the time, the FAA described a “disturbing increase” in disruptive behavior, specifically noting a “proliferation” of such conduct “following the January 6, 2021 violence at the U.S. Capitol,” according to an order signed by FAA Chief Steve Dickson.
