The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told CNBC on Thursday that there has been an unsettling increase in commercial flight interruptions in recent days, prompting the regulatory agency to issue a stricter enforcement policy.
“Indeed, in the past few days, we have seen an increase in the distribution of onboard incidents in which airline passengers interrupted flights with their behavior,” said FAA administrator Steve Dickson in “Squawk on the Street”.
He said the episodes resulted in part from pamphlets that did not comply with the face mask policies that were implemented during the coronavirus pandemic, and also in the wake of the deadly pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.
The FAA’s new oversight policy comes at a time when airlines and airports are increasing security before President-elect Joe Biden takes office next week.
For example, American Airlines is discontinuing alcohol service on flights to and from Washington and Baltimore from Saturday to next Thursday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline also implemented this suspension after the Capitol riot last week.
Delta Air Lines will not allow passengers flying to airports serving Washington to check firearms, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Thursday.
Dickson said his new FAA order will temporarily reinforce his long-standing approach to flight interruptions.
Instead of issuing warnings or advice, the FAA intends to take legal action against “any passenger who attacks, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members,” according to a press release. The application is effective until March 30.
“I’m telling inspectors, I’m telling my lawyers at the FAA’s chief council office, that we need to speed up the collection of facts about all these [incidents] and we will take immediate enforcement action in appropriate situations, “Dickson told CNBC.
On Monday, in a letter that was read by CNBC, two leading Democrats in the House asked the FAA to crack down on undisciplined passengers. Lawmakers pointed to media reports of political interruptions in the days after the Capitol was violently seized by supporters of President Donald Trump.
Dickson agreed on the need to protect flight crew and passengers.
“Whenever we see a trend like this, we need to act because traveling on a commercial airline in the United States is the safest form of travel in human history,” he said. “I want to make sure it stays that way. “
– Leslie Josephs from CNBC contributed to this report.