Air Travel - Flying the Friendly Skies

[neonzx]

[AndyinPA]

I understand that it's dicey on planes right now with passengers acting up more than usual. Several airlines are considering or have dropped alcohol on flights.

[Frater I*I]

I understand that it's dicey on planes right now with passengers acting up more than usual. Several airlines are considering or have dropped alcohol on flights.

The FAA has already jacked the fines up into 5 digit range, although they're just a regulatory agency there's virtually nothing that prevents them from fining you into chapter 7...

[Dr. Ken]

Another incident

[sugar magnolia]

Twice in a week, but why are they calling them hijackings?

[Phoenix520]

I’ve seen comments on both stories about the person’s possible mental health state (panic attack, psychotic break) and the need to go easy on such persons.

Um….nope, not at the very moment they’re trying to open a door mid-flight or break into the cockpit. Be gentle later.

[RTH10260]

Under normal cirumstances it is not possible to open the cabin door inflight due to the pressure difference, and the cockpit doors are said to be terrorist proofed and hardened against any intent of smashing them.

[Kendra]

No link, but CNN has been reporting this was an off duty flight attendant.

[LM K]

Alaska just changed my flight ... again. I don't want a long layover, thank you very much Alaska.

I'm starting to think airlines pull this crap just to get passengers to change their flights, pay more, etc. I want to change to a different flight, but the trip is in Sept. Alaska has changed this flight twice in 3 weeks.

I don't know what to do.

My dad worked for united for 35 years. Airlines are assholes.

[LM K]

I’ve seen comments on both stories about the person’s possible mental health state (panic attack, psychotic break) and the need to go easy on such persons.

Um….nope, not at the very moment they’re trying to open a door mid-flight or break into the cockpit. Be gentle later.

You can't "be gentle" with someone having a mental health crisis if they are putting the safety of others at risk. And when someone is putting others at risk during a mental health crisis, they are putting themselves at risk. It's not pretty.

All flight attendants can do with a passenger in a mental health crisis is restrain a passenger. That's their only option.

You let EMTs take over when the plane lands.

I do hope that the FAA will go easy on passengers who had a sincere mental health crisis and caused problems. I suspect that they will if the passenger can document the problem was due to a medical emergency. Those who disrupt flight because they're drunk, stoned, or general assholes need to pay.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.axios.com/biden-transportat ... c38da.html

The Transportation Department said on Friday that it is suspending 44 China-bound flights conducted by the country's airlines after the Chinese government canceled dozens of flights from American carriers.

Driving the news: Chinese authorities have suspended 44 flights since Dec. 31 from United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines due to coronavirus concerns.

What they're saying: DOT said that the Chinese government's actions "are adverse to the public interest and warrant proportionate remedial action by the Department."

Its "unilateral actions against the named U.S. carriers are inconsistent with the provisions of the agreement and are premised on circumstances wholly outside of the carriers’ control," the department added, referring to a U.S.-China bilateral agreement.

[RTH10260]

passenger flight, exchange of scientists

[RTH10260]

Once upon a time when ....

[Lani]

For the first time in almost 2 years, I flew to Oahu. I used to do that at least once a month. There were still people at the airport who remembered me in a wheelchair for a couple of years. Then I got my scooter. The TSA person checked under my scooter - for bombs apparently. She fell down, and I almost ran over her. We had a good laff, but a video of the event wound up in TSA training. I became famous! I was always upgraded to a better seat.

Last week I had to fly Oahu, and people still remembered me from the video I was moved to first class. There are reasons why I love Kauai.

Unfortunately, the flight back was full. No such thing as social distancing. I did not feel safe being crammed on the plane even tho everyone wore masks.
It's going to take some time for us to return to commuting to neighbor islands.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... ar-AATTUbf

A group of Republican senators sent a letter to the Justice Department on Tuesday to express "strong opposition" to creating a federal no-fly list for unruly passengers, claiming "the majority of recent infractions on airplanes has been in relation to the mask mandate."

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas were among those who signed a letter opposing Delta Airlines' CEO Ed Bastian's, request earlier this month that the DOJ create a "no-fly" list for passengers convicted of federal offenses relating to on-board disruptions.

2021 saw a major spike in unruly passengers, with more than 5,981 reported cases, according to the FAA. The agency notes, of those cases, 4290 were mask-related.

"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 GOP senators' letter said. "The [Transportation Security Administration] was created in the wake of 9/11 to protect Americans from future horrific attacks, not to regulate human behavior onboard flights."

[raison de arizona]

Unruly passengers are a security issue.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... h-assault/

The 19-year-old son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was charged with assaulting a flight attendant in addition to the previously reported underage drinking and disorderly conduct charges he faces following an incident on a Jan. 5 flight from Lexington, Ky. to Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reported on the additional charge, "a misdemeanor assault on a female by aggressive physical force." It was not clear why the assault charge wasn't disclosed in the initial reports.

Police said William Paul may have been served alcohol on the U.S. Airways flight. In a statement last week, Sen. Paul's office asked for privacy on the matter.

[raison de arizona]

Apple. Tree.

[raison de arizona]

Banned from Southwest for life.

Southwest Passenger Arrested for Masturbating FOUR Times During Flight

A man on a Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle to Phoenix is facing federal charges for pulling down his pants and masturbating at least four times in front of a female passenger, beginning shortly after takeoff, according to a criminal complaint first obtained by The Daily Beast.

Antonio Sherrodd McGarity was arrested by officers from the Phoenix Police Department when Southwest flight 3814 landed at Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday, the complaint states. However, McGarity told cops that he didn’t do anything wrong and in fact “thought it was kind of kinky,” it says.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/southwest ... to-phoenix
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... 8-mcgarity

[RTH10260]

[raison de arizona]

Well look who (oddly) decided to pop his head up in favor of masks.

[raison de arizona]

Woman Who Punched Southwest Flight Attendant Gets 15 Months In Prison
Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the assault.

A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered Tuesday by the federal judge in San Diego to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the assault on a May 23, 2021 Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego.

Quinonez, 29, of Sacramento, woman is prohibited from flying for three years while she is on supervised release and must participate in anger management classes or counseling.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vyvianna ... d2d023e4b1

[AndyinPA]

[raison de arizona]

Amazing how that works. I have flights for work coming up in July and August. _I_ will be masking, but not looking forward to it.

[AndyinPA]

We have to fly to Montreal and back from Chicago in September. I had thought of making backup Amtrak reservations, but found that the Montreal route has been discontinued due to the pandemic.

It's only a two-day drive from here, but we can't leave the car there. I already know it's not easy renting a car in this country and dropping it in another country is tough, so I am gritting my teeth.