FBI Gets 37 Unruly Flyer Reports from FAA

Hand einer jungen Frau in Handschellen Hand of a young woman in handcuffs

However, the agency has only referred a very few to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for consideration for criminal charges. The Associated Press reports only 37 unruly passenger incidents have been handed over to the FBI for prosecution.

Unions and Lawmakers Push for Stronger Punishments for Bad Passengers

According to the latest data by the FAA, only 950 of the thousands of complaints have been investigated by the agency, with only 227 resulting in proposed fines. Because the FAA is a civil agency, they are unable to bring criminal charges against flyers.

With the dramatic increase in in-flight incidents, the agency began working with the FBI to investigate and refer situations for prosecution faster than before. Because the FBI has authority over the special aircraft jurisdiction of the U.S., they have the sole authority over commercial flights.

While the FAA has sent 37 incidents to the FBI for consideration, they did not say which cases were sent over, nor identify anyone who could be being investigated. Multiple messages from the FAA – in the form of public service announcements and memes – have warned flyers they could face fines, flying bans and possible arrest for acting out on airplanes.

Although the move reinforces the rhetoric from the FAA, airline unions say there needs to be more action against poorly behaved travelers. In a press release, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said while the move was needed to , they want to see a national “do not fly” list created across all airlines.

“Our union continues to call for the creation of a centralized list of violators who will be denied the freedom of flight on all airlines,” said Sara Nelson, president of the AFA-CWA. “If a passenger physically assaults crewmembers or other passengers on one airline, they pose a risk to passengers and crew at every airline. They should be banned from flying on all airlines. Period.”

The call is seconded by a group of six House Democrats, who wrote a letter to attorney general Merrick Garland. The group asked the nation’s top legal officer to have the “incidents directed towards service agents should be recorded and acted upon by the Department of Justice.”

Renewed Calls Come After Assault Ends in Broken Nose

The renewed calls for stricter penalties comes after an American Airlines flight attendant suffered a broken nose after being punched twice by a passenger. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed 20-year-old Brian Hsu of Irvine, California was charged with interference with a flight crew and assault on accusations of launching the assault.