Before the riots, United Airlines moved its crews from hotels in central Washington and increased the number of employees at airports in the region. The airline has worked and continues to work with the Transportation Security Administration and law enforcement agencies, including the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.
On Wednesday, American Airlines banned first class alcohol for flights out of Washington. (The airline stopped serving alcohol in the main cabin last year because of the pandemic.)
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents the flight attendants of 17 airlines, asked that rebels be banned from flying out of Washington and asked the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration , o The Department of Transportation and other law enforcement agencies “keep all problems in place”.
“Some of the people who traveled on our planes yesterday participated in the Capitol uprising,” Nelson said in a statement. “His violent and seditious actions on Capitol today create more concerns about his departure from the DC area. Acts against our democracy, our government and the freedom we demand as Americans must disqualify these individuals from the freedom to fly. “
Worrying incidents
Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American Airlines flight attendants, said there were several incidents on flights to Washington during the week.
“Flight attendants were forced to confront passengers who exhibited politically motivated aggression against other passengers and crew,” she said in a statement. “This behavior is unacceptable and flight attendants should not have to deal with these egregious incidents.”
On Thursday night, passengers “not obedient to the mask, turbulent and questioning” on an Alaska Airlines flight from Dulles to Seattle harassed crew members, a spokeswoman told The Times. These passengers were banned from flying with the airline in the future.