AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME: Proposal to put unruly passengers on no-fly list introduced in Congress

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US re-introduced legislation last week that would create a no-fly list for passengers who are fined or convicted of disruptive or violent behaviour on board an aircraft. In 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration received nearly 2,500 reports of unruly passengers.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said the legislation they re-introduced is in the interest of everybody on board a flight. The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act, originally introduced in April 2022, would direct the Transportation Security Administration to “create and manage a program” that bars such unruly passengers from flying again.

“We must do more to protect employees and the travelling public, and the Protection from Abusive Protections Act does that,” Reed. “Passengers, once they are on board, must follow the rules and not commit acts of violence, or they won’t be permitted on commercial aircraft again.”

According to the proposal the TSA would have the authority to determine how long an unruly passenger is banned from flying based on the severity of their offense.

The legislation comes after ever escalating reports of unruly passengers each year. In 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration received nearly 2,500 reports of unruly passengers. They investigated 831.

Those numbers are down from a pandemic high in early 2021 when the federal mask mandate was in effect, some flight attendants and passengers too often still face abuse and physical assault by other passengers..

While the legislation has some bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, it may face difficulty getting passed. Other legislation concerning unruly passengers was introduced during the last Congress but failed to pass a subcommittee.

However, lawmakers were hopeful this attempt could succeed.

“I don’t say this very often, [but] I’m quite optimistic about this getting across the finish line,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is something I anticipate will get broad bipartisan support.”