Delta Air Lines Pushes For National ‘No Fly’ List For Unruly Passengers

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has written to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to support a “complete” no-fly list for rowdy customers, which would prevent anyone convicted of an onboard disruptive incident from flying on any airline.

Since September 2021, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) put airlines on notice to help stem the surge of unruly customer incidents, Bastian has been advocating for a national no-fly list for rowdy passengers.

Previously, Delta proposed that airlines publish the names of passengers who had been blacklisted for misbehaving. Other airline CEOs objected to the proposal because it would turn them into “judge, jury, and executioner,” exposing them to a slew of civil rights lawsuits.

Bastian’s most recent version of the plan is for federal authorities to oversee an unruly passenger no-fly list that only includes persons convicted of “on-board disturbance.”

Merrick has already encouraged prosecutors to make rowdy passenger events a top priority in order to send a clear message to rule breakers that causing a nuisance at 37,000 feet might result in jail time.

Bastian, on the other hand, wants the Biden administration to go even further.

“Any disruption or act of violence on our planes and at our airport’s warrants full and public prosecution of the offenders, with zero tolerance for any behavior that interferes with flight safety,” Bastian told Merrick in the letter which was sent on Thursday.

Bastian urged: “In addition to the welcome increase in enforcement and prosecutions, we are requesting you support our efforts with respect to the much-needed step of putting any person convicted of an on-board disruption on a national, comprehensive, unruly passenger ‘no0fly’ list that would bar that person from travelling on any commercial air carrier”.

“This action will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft.”

Delta has blacklisted roughly 1,900 customers since the outbreak began for failing to follow either its own masking standards or the government mask law – Far more than any other airline in the United States. The TSA has been given less than half of those names for civil penalties.