Rising incidences of airline passenger violence in the USA have resulted in the US Department of Transportation (DoT) expanding its experimental "interference with crew member programme". Special arrangements in force at Honolulu and Los Angeles have been extended to New York's Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports.
The programme aims to ensure that sanctions are applied against passengers who disrupt a commercial flight. The threat of federal criminal sanctions has always existed, but the US Federal Aviation Administration has created the experimental project to ensure that a co-ordinated approach between the various US law-enforcement agencies will always lead to criminal prosecution of those whose misconduct justifies it. Since the programme began in November 1996, there have been 24 incidents reported on the aircraft of 12 airlines arriving in Honolulu and Los Angeles. Of these, seven have resulted in criminal prosecutions.
In 1996, the FAA issued an advisory circular which provided additional guidance to air carriers on how to respond to interference with crew members and to report incidents to the aviation agency.
Earlier this year, Northwest Airlines took the unusual step of barring an individual from its aircraft. The individual attacked and injured a Northwest pilot during an incident in Detroit. Northwest also advised other airlines of the action it had taken against the former customer.
Source: Flight International
