An airline employee walks through American Airlines’ empty check-in terminals at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 12, 2020.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Getty Images
Airlines are transferring their crews to hotels outside downtown Washington, DC, to avoid protests at the United States Capitol, airlines and a major union said.
American Airlines started booking crews to spend the night in Washington at airport hotels on Tuesday and plans to do the same on Wednesday at least, said Curtis Blessing, an American Airlines spokesman.
United Airlines flight attendants will also be staying at airport hotels this week, while Alaska Airlines flight attendants were instructed to avoid downtown Washington DC, said Taylor Garland, spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents the crews of these airlines and much more than a dozen others. The decisions were made before pro-Trump protesters invaded the United States Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.
United crews staying overnight in Atlanta are also staying at airport hotels this week.
Airlines withdrew crews from downtown Washington, DC, on election day in November, due to concerns about demonstrations and possible logistical problems.