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USA: Priority in cases of violent passenger behavior during flights

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday instructed federal prosecutors to prioritize the cases of airline passengers who committed assaults and other in-flight offenses.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on November 4 that it has reported more than 36 unruly passengers to the FBI for criminal prosecution, given the increase in in-flight assault cases recorded during the year.

“The Ministry of Justice is committed to the use of its resources, in order to do its part to prevent violence, intimidation, threats of violence, but also other criminal behaviors that endanger the safety of passengers, crews and flight attendants on airliner flights, “Garland said

U.S. airlines have reported a record number of incidents, sometimes violent, this year, with the FAA promising “zero tolerance” in these cases.

As of November 23, there were 5,338 reports of incidents with unruly passengers, including 3,856 incidents related to the regulations for using a face mask due to the pandemic. On Monday, the FAA proposed fines of $ 161,823 to eight airline passengers for disorderly conduct caused by alcohol consumption.

A spokesman for the agency said the FAA had opened 227 law enforcement cases and referred 37 of them to the FBI for further investigation.

The FAA and the Department of Justice have announced that they have developed an information management protocol for the FAA so that the agency can report incidents of unruly passengers to the FBI for a more thorough investigation.

On October 8, President Joe Biden said he had instructed the Justice Department “to handle” the growing number of incidents of passenger flight violence.

A union representing major airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines, as well as civil aviation unions, called on the Justice Department in June to prosecute passengers who cause problems. during the flights, while a similar request was made by the Democrats in Congress.

U.S. Attorneys in Colorado have convicted a 20-year-old man from California of assaulting a flight attendant on an Oct. 27 flight to Santa Ana, California. Due to the incident, the aircraft was forced to land.

Earlier in the month, a 32-year-old passenger was arrested and charged with assaulting a Southwest Airlines Co agent after boarding a flight to Dallas.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

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Source From: Capital

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