The Federal Aviation Administration's fines against unruly airline passengers in 2021 have reached $1 million following a new round of proposed penalties Thursday.
The latest fines, part of the agency's Zero Tolerance campaign, were levied against 34 airline passengers and amounted to more than $500,000.
Since Jan. 1, the FAA has received 3,889 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, with nearly two-thirds of the complaints involving passengers refusing to wear a face mask. The Transportation Security Administration plans to extend the federal mandate to wear a mask while traveling until Jan. 18, according to Reuters.
In one of the most egregious cases, a passenger sexually assaulted the airline staff, “grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt,” according to the press release. He also threw his carry-on luggage and other objects at other passengers before being placed in flexi-cuffs. The passenger faces a $45,000 fine.
Another passenger on a JetBlue Airways flight to San Francisco allegedly made “non-consensual physical contact with another passenger,” made “stabbing gestures towards certain passengers” and snorted “what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag, which the cabin crew confiscated.” The man may be fined $42,000.
Passengers have 30 days after receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.
House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio told CNN he wants harsher punishment than fines, possibly even prison time, for those accused of in-flight violence.
"The first time we take one of these jerks who is assaulting flight attendants or attempting to take an aircraft down -- and they go away for a few years and they get a massive fine-- I think that will send a message," the Oregon Democrat said.
The Association of Flight Attendants, which is the largest union of flight attendants, agreed and called for more prosecutions.
"If you interfere with a crew member's duties and put the rest of the plane in jeopardy, or assault the crew member, you're facing $35,000 in fines for each incident and up to 20 years in prison," association President Sara Nelson told CNN.
"People need to understand there are severe consequences here."