^^

I have never seen this before, but know it happens frequently. It is nothing to worry about, and nothing we (as a fellow passenger) has a right to inquire about.

My main surprise is at OP's surprise. As the most mobile society in the world, and with the largest prison population in the world, it should come as no surprise to see prisoners on U.S. flights.

Since this is not unique to UA, have moved this thread to TravelBuzz where there are a number of existing threads (such as http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...transport.html) on this topic. Before the move some extraneous posts were removed.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator

And irrelevant. IAD is in Virginia !

But not on aircraft (the actual subject of this thread)

Separate law/procedure allows local/state LEOs to carry firearms on an aircraft, in limited circumstances (such as prisoner transport)

TSA Link:

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/law-enforcement

Maybe it's not a prisoner. Maybe it's just someone really into bondage. Either way, it's not a security risk.

And with the armed officer on board it should be one of the safer flights. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Something is off here. This may happen in the movies but it is not supposed to happen on a plane. United, for example, will not fly handcuffed prisoners.

A handcuffed passenger would be a significant problem in case of an emergency.

UA has the right to refuse, not they automatically refuse.

I've seen officers with handcuffed prisoners at the head of the boarding line several times and I'm far from the most frequent of flyers.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I got a copy of AA's codes for the Passenger Information List that's usually posted in the galley (the forward galley, if there's more than one). Besides obvious things, such as AA and corresponding oneWorld elite levels, there were codes for "prisoner in handcuffs" and "escorting prisoner in handcuffs." I don't remember what they are, but I remember that they were on the list.

So, either AA doesn't follow UA's policy, or AA's policy has changed in the past 15 or so years.

This is not necessarily conflicting. A long lifetime ago, when I was a LEO transporting extradited prisoners, we would always escort the critter onto the plane in handcuffs and transport chains but after getting him settled into a window seat the cuffs would be removed. Since we boarded first, few other pax would see that. We were always armed and the guy wouldn't leave his seat uncuffed. If he needed the lav, the cuffs went back on, the FA asked to clear a lav at the rear and the prisoner only moved to the lav when it was clear. One LEO stayed outside and walked him back when done. Since we requested seating at the back of the plane, few pax would see that either.

On nearly every flight from CDG to Africa the first group that boards are deportees. (At least that's what I've seen) Often cuffed. But they take the cuffs off when the enter the plane.

These kinds of passengers are pretty routine. Many of them are foreign nationals who committed crimes in the U.S. and are being deported back to their home countries under escort by Federal agents.

There are indeed times such passengers are denied boarding, but it's usually because they resist or act in a way that would potentially disrupt the flight - not simply for the fact that they are cuffed and in custody. In terms of being an actual safety risk to other passengers, it's not clear how that would happen given the supervision they are under.