A group of eight GOP senators are opposing the creation of a federal no-fly list for “unruly passengers” because it would affect those opposed to mask mandates.
The Republicans wrote a letter to the Justice Department this week citing their “strong opposition” to putting passengers convicted of unruly behavior on an aircraft on a federal no-fly list. “Creating a federal ‘no-fly’ list for unruly passengers who are skeptical of this mandate would seemingly equate them to terrorists who seek to actively take the lives of Americans and perpetrate attacks on the homeland,” the lawmakers wrote.
There are many reports of passengers who behave badly has multipliedDuring the pandemic, it is common to create unsafe conditionsFor both airline employees and passengers. According to the Federal Aviation AdministrationThese reports were overwhelmingly mask-related in 2021. Of 5,981 reports, 4,290 of them were mask-related — likely due to passengers who refused to wear a maskTake off on a flight.
The letter’s signatories included Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee (R.Utah), Marco Rubio(R-Florida), and Rick Scott.
Delta requested the creation a federal nofly list earlier in the month to help send a message about anti-mask passengers and possibly prevent future incidents of disruptive behavior or assaults. Airlines already maintain their own no-fly lists; Delta CEO Ed Bastian says that the company’s list has 1,900 people on it.
Last week, anti mask passengers were arrested caused the diversion of two American Airline flights, a Delta passengerAfter trying to open the emergency door during flight, I had to be physically restrained. endangering the lives of everyone on board. The passenger who was unruly claimed he tried opening the door to get other passengers to record him speaking out on COVID vaccines.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA released a survey in July of last yearIn 2021, 85 percent of flight attendants had handled unruly passengers. More than half of them had experienced at least five incidents. One in five flight attendants had experienced a “physical incident.”
The flight attendant’s union has also called for putting such passengers on a federal no-fly list because passengers could simply book a flight on a different airline after being banned. The union criticized the Republicans’ letter.
“Get serious. Homeland security is homeland security. Our flights are under attack by a small number of people and it has to stop,” said Sara NelsonIn a statement, President of the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA.
“We’ve been punched, kicked, spit on, and sexually assaulted. This puts everyone at danger and disrupts safety of flight. Each Senator who signed the letter understands what is at stake if we leave an aviation safety and security gap. It is irresponsible and political brinkmanship that will put our economic security at risk right along with our lives.”
However, human rights organizations have raised legitimate concernsThese lists were created in the past led to racial profilingand religious discrimination with the pretended goal of preventing terrorist acts. During the Obama administration, over 47,000 people were on the terrorist no-fly list, despite that many added to government watchlists had “no recognized terrorist group affiliation.” Moreover, the list was secretive, meaning that citizens wouldn’t even know they were on the list until they were prevented from flying.
