United Asks Flight Attendants Not to Tape Passengers to Seats

Their union called the memo a publicity stunt. But plans by the F.A.A. to fine passengers suggest that the skies remain unruly, as does American Airlines’ extension of its alcohol ban. . . .

. . . . These moves coincided with wider attention to a United Airlines memo that flight attendants denounced as a publicity stunt. In it, United Airlines updated attendants about hiring, thanked them for being so friendly and then issued an odd plea.

“Please remember that there are designated items onboard that may be used in difficult situations and alternative measures such as tape should never be used,” John Slater, United’s senior vice president of in-flight services, wrote. . . .

. . . . United Airlines removed restraint tape from its cabins in 2014, she said, so the reminder made no sense. She suspects the memo was leaked in a PR move.

Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants,

, calling the memo a “sick marketing stunt” and asking the airline to apologize to flight attendants.

The memo is “offensive,” Ms. Garland said. “They are not offering flight attendants real tools to deal with an unprecedented rise in unruly passengers.”

United, which shared the memo after a request from The New York Times, declined to discuss when the airline banned tape altogether or what flight attendants should do to control disruptive passengers.

Ms. Garland said that United, like many airlines, keeps “tough cuffs,” which look like zip ties, onboard for restraining passengers. . . .

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