(DailyExpertNews) — An American Airlines passenger plane bound for London turned over mid-flight on Wednesday after being disrupted by a mask.
“American Airlines Flight 38 on service from Miami (MIA) to London (LHR) returned to MIA due to an disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement,” American Airlines said in a statement.
Local law enforcement officers met the flight at Miami International Airport, the airline said.
Miami-Dade police told DailyExpertNews it had been called by the airline about a female passenger who refused to wear a mask.
“When the plane reached the gate, the passenger was escorted from the plane without incident by MDPD officers. The passenger was then administratively handled by American Airlines personnel,” said Miami-Dade Police Department Detective A. Colome.
The flight, operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, was canceled after the incident. There were 129 passengers and 14 crew on board. There were no injuries to customers or crew members.
“We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” American said in a statement.
According to Federal Aviation Administration data as of Jan. 18, 151 unruly passenger reports have already been recorded this year. Of these, 92 were mask-related incidents. The agency’s tracking site shows that 32 investigations have been launched so far this year and that 4 enforcement cases have been initiated.
Tackling unruly passenger behaviour
In January last year, the FAA announced a “zero tolerance” policy for unruly passenger behavior that skips warnings or counseling and leads directly to penalties, including hefty fines and jail time.
It is unclear whether the passenger involved in the incident on AA Flight 38 on Wednesday will face enforcement action from the FAA.
The FAA has the civil authority to propose fines of up to $37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases. The agency has no jurisdiction to prosecute.
Last year was the worst year for unruly airline passenger behavior in the United States, according to FAA data.
As many as 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were recorded by the FAA in 2021. Of these, 4,290 – almost 72% – were mask-related incidents.
The FAA notes on its website that the number of unruly passenger incidents has fallen by about 50% since reaching record highs in early 2021. “But there is still more work to be done,” the site says.
Before 2021, the FAA did not track the number of reported unruly passenger incidents, as the number was fairly consistent. But a sharp rise in unruly passenger behavior in late 2020 prompted the agency to start following the reports in 2021.
However, the FAA has recorded the number of unruly passenger incidents that have risen to levels under investigation since 1995.
From 1995 to 2020, an average of 182 inquiries were opened per year. In 2021, the FAA initiated 1,081 investigations, a 494% increase from the historical average of investigations.