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Bloomberg
Violent and unruly airline passengers will continue to face steep fines and potential criminal charges even as rules mandating face coverings fade away.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said its zero-tolerance policy against unruly passengers will be made permanent as it attempts to deter bad behaviour. The move came two days after most major US airlines eliminated policies requiring passengers to wear masks, an issue that has contributed to thousands of attacks on airline personnel since the FAA began its crackdown in January 2021.
“Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,†Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said in a statement. The agency can impose fines of as much as $37,000 per violation. The FAA had referred 80 cases for prosecution.
More than 1,200 unruly passenger incidents were reported this year through mid-April, roughly 800 of which were related to masks, according to the FAA.