Delta Flight Diverted After Passenger Attacked Air Marshal And Flight Attendant In Latest Air Rage Incident

Delta flight 342 from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles was forced to divert to Oklahoma City last night after a male passenger attacked a flight attendant and a Federal Air Marshal who intervened. The passenger was removed from the flight by local law enforcement.

“During a flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, a passenger became disruptive causing a security concern and the flight diverted to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Federal Air Marshals assigned to the flight intervened to protect the safety and security of the flight crew and passengers,” the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirmed in an emailed statement. 

It is just the latest in a very long line of “unruly passenger” incidents that have made headlines since the Covid-19 pandemic began. As of December 7, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) had reported more than 5,550 reports of unruly passengers in 2021.

Among the most egregious incidents: On an Alaska Airlines flight in March, a Colorado man who refused to wear a face mask swatted at a flight attendant, then stood up and urinated in his seat area. In May, a JetBlue passenger put his head up the skirt of a JetBlue flight attendant. The same month, a Southwest Airlines passenger punched out a flight attendant’s teeth after being told to keep her seat belt fastened.

Incidents involving disruptive and sometimes violent passengers is very bad for the airline business. Four out of 10 (41%) consumers say they have traveled less often due to concerns about air rage incidents, and nearly two thirds (63%) say they are at least slightly concerned about unruly passengers on their next flight; one in five (21%) are very or extremely concerned, according to Morning Consult’s latest State of Travel and Hospitality report.

A majority of adults (59%) blame the offending passengers for the spike in air rage incidents, but a solid 22% blame airlines or their employees. One in ten adults (11%) blame the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or other airport authorities.

Historically, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has handled unruly-passenger incidents with warnings and civil penalties. In January, the agency adopted a stricter, zero-tolerance policy toward disruptive passengers. By August, the FAA had proposed civil fines topping $1 million against air passengers.

The TSA has also ratcheted up its response. “TSA, in coordination with our air carrier and airport management partners, as well as the FAA, will pursue criminal charges, civil penalties up to the maximum allowable by law, and ineligibility for TSA PreCheck for up to five years,” said the TSA.

This past summer, TSA also announced steps to deter assaults against officers and flight crew, including resumption of flight crew self-defense training led by the Federal Air Marshals.

But many believe that civil fines are not enough and the overall response to the problem has been too slow. Last summer, the airline industry has called on the Department of Justice led by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to punish offenders with jail time.

In September, flight attendants testified before a Congressional subcommittee about the rise in air rage. Flight cabin crews were routinely encountering “extensive verbal abuse, including from visibly drunk passengers, passengers yelling and swearing in response to masking directions, and often aggressively challenging flight crew working to ensure compliance with federal rules,” said Sara Nelson, the president of a union representing cabin crew workers from 17 airlines.