A Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth and walked away bloodied after she was physically assaulted by a passenger Sunday morning, part of a disturbing uptick in traveler misconduct.
“This past weekend, one of our Flight Attendants was seriously assaulted, resulting in injuries to the face and a loss of two teeth,” TWU Local 556 president Lyn Montgomery wrote in a letter to Southwest Airlines management. “Unfortunately, this is just one of many occurrences.”
Southwest’s flight attendant union said there were 477 passenger misconduct incidents on the carrier’s flights between April 8 and May 15, including an incident Sunday morning on a flight landing at San Diego International Airport.
“Our reports indicate that a passenger physically assaulted a Flight Attendant upon landing on Flight #700 from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday morning,” Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz said in a statement. “The passenger repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing. Law Enforcement Officials (LEOs) were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody.”
A woman who shared a video of the aftermath of the incident on Facebook said the flight attendant told a passenger to keep her seat belt fastened while the plane was still moving. A video shows police officers with San Diego Port Authority escorting a woman from the plane.
“We do not condone or tolerate verbal or physical abuse of our Flight Crews, who are responsible for the safety of our passengers,” Mainz said.
Southwest Airlines did not have any updates about the flight attendant’s condition. The flight attendant who was allegedly assaulted is a woman.
Montgomery also worried that Southwest is set to reintroduce alcohol sales on flights after suspending them for most of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The incident came just a day before the FAA fined five passengers a combined $54,500 for assaulting flight attendants and refusing to wear face masks.
Since the beginning of the year, the FAA has received about 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior and 1,900 reports of passengers refusing to wear face masks in spite of a federal mandate.
Southwest’s flight attendant union is pleading with the company to do something to stem the bad behavior, including banning more passengers.
“One tool to better utilize would be the Southwest Airlines restricted travelers list,” Montgomery wrote. “The flying public needs to understand that egregious behavior will result in being banned from flying with Southwest Airlines.”
Last week, the FAA fined a Southwest passenger $27,000 for an incident aboard a flight on Jan. 1 between Phoenix and Chicago that forced the crew to divert to Oklahoma City. A man allegedly banged his head on the seat in front of him and yelled “that he was going to kill someone and that he had a bomb and was going to blow up the aircraft.”
Just Monday, the FAA fined a Southwest passenger $9,000 for refusing to wear a mask during a flight from Oakland to Houston. According to the FAA and TSA reports, a flight attendant offered the man a face mask and the passenger threw it to the floor, saying he would not wear it. The flight’s captain had law enforcement meet the aircraft when it arrived in Houston.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Professional flight attendants, called on passengers to follow mask mandates.
“Wear a mask,” Nelson said in a statement. “It’s required. Period. The freedom of flight depends on all of us following the rules and treating others with respect.”
“Flight Attendants are charged with the safety, health, and security of everyone in the cabin,” Nelson said. “Our instructions to the traveling public keep everyone safe. Listen up and do your part. The consequences are steep if you do not, and the FAA isn’t playing around on this.”
Nelson and FAA administrator Stephen Dickson are set to take part in a town hall Tuesday about the mask mandates and passenger behavior.
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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