Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian has written to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to push for a “comprehensive” no-fly list for unruly passengers that would bar any person convicted of an onboard disruptive incident from traveling on any airline.
Bastian has been pushing for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers since at least September 2021 when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) put airlines on notice to help stem the ride of unruly passenger incidents.
Delta’s previous idea was for airlines to share the names of passengers they had banned for unruly behavior. Other airline chief executives rejected the idea because it would make them ‘judge, jury and executioner’ and open them up to the risk of a wave of civil rights lawsuits.
Bastian’s latest iteration of the idea is for federal authorities to manage an unruly passenger no-fly list and only include people who have been convicted of an “on-board disruption”.
Merrick has already pushed prosecutors to prioritize unruly passenger incidents in order to send a strong message to rule breakers that they risk jail time if they cause a nuisance at 37,000 feet.
Bastian, however, would like the Biden administration to go much further.
“Any disruption or act of violence on our planes and at our airport’s warrants full and public prosecution of the offenders, with zero tolerance for any behavior that interferes with flight safety,” Bastian told Merrick in the letter which was sent on Thursday.
Bastian urged: “In addition to the welcome increase in enforcement and prosecutions, we are requesting you support our efforts with respect to the much-needed step of putting any person convicted of an on-board disruption on a national, comprehensive, unruly passenger ‘no0fly’ list that would bar that person from travelling on any commercial air carrier”.
“This action will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Delta has banned nearly 1,900 customers for failing to comply with either its own masking rules or the federal mask mandate – Far more than any other U.S. airline. Less than half of those names have been passed to the TSA for civil penalties.
The Department of Justice has not commented on the proposal.
