Delta Airlines Wants To Put Maskless Passengers Deemed ‘Unruly’ On A National ‘No-Fly List’

Delta Airlines is reportedly pushing the airline industry to agree to put thousands of customers on a “no-fly list” for being “unruly” — a designation that appears to be most often applied to passengers who refuse to wear face masks.

“Delta Air Lines wants to create a national ‘no-fly’ list of banned passengers to prevent unruly behaviour onboard aircraft,” Business Insider reported Friday. “The carrier has pushed other US airlines to share their lists of passengers who have been banned during the pandemic for disruptive behaviour, according to a memo to flight attendants on Wednesday.”

A statement about the memo, which is now on Delta’s website, claims that Delta is engaging other airlines in the effort in order to create a “culture of safety for every employee” and to protect passengers, and brags that Delta has 1,600 individual “unruly” passengers on its proprietary “no-fly list” — a list that is apparently privately held and is not subject to an appeals process.

Delta also notes that the memo went out to employees on the “same day” that the House took up a bill aimed at increasing federal power to punish passengers who make trouble onboard planes or in airports. They also suggest that they are pressuring other airlines to join an industry-wide “no-fly” list effort so as to prevent passengers banned from Delta from seeking out other travel options.

At Delta, we now have more than 1,600 people on our “no fly” list, and we’ve submitted more than 600 banned names to the FAA in 2021 as part of their Special Emphasis Enforcement Program. We’ve also asked other airlines to share their “no fly” list to further protect airline employees across the industry – something we know is top of mind for employees as well. A list of banned customers doesn’t work as well if that customer can fly with another airline. The memos were sent the same day the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure held a hearing titled, “Disruption in the Skies: The Surge in Air Rage and its Effects on Workers, Airlines, and Airports.” Airlines for America (A4A), which represents Delta, urged stronger actions from federal agencies and authorities.

According to Business Insider, the vast majority of “unruly passenger incidents” reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were over customers refusing to wear face masks.

“The FAA recorded 4,385 unruly passenger incidents between January and September 2021, according to the agency’s website. More than 3,000 of those reports w... (Read more)

Latest News