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American Airlines aircraft (archive image)
Photo: COOPER NEILL / AFP
The last attack hit the headlines just over a week ago.
On a Southwest Airlines plane, a passenger attacked a flight attendant.
For the travelers, the flight ended with a visit to pre-trial detention, for the airline's employees in the hospital.
She suffered injuries to her face and lost two teeth.
It is by no means an isolated case.
According to CNN, there have been more than 2,500 reported incidents of abusive behavior or verbal attacks by passengers since the beginning of the year.
Alcohol is often involved.
In response, two airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, are banning alcoholic beverages from most of their cabins.
"We have seen some disturbing situations in the last week," CNN quoted an American Airlines spokesman as saying.
Such scenes will not be tolerated.
Specifically, American Airlines had stopped serving alcohol a while ago with reference to the Covid rules.
Actually, it should start again on June 1st, but this date was canceled in view of the most recent incident.
However, first class and business class passengers are exempt from the alcohol ban.
Southwest had suspended serving indefinitely after the flight attendant attack.
First there was abuse, then they were beaten
Other major airlines in the United States such as Delta or United continue to offer their guests alcoholic beverages.
In the incident last weekend, the traveler had ignored the cabin crew's requests to buckle up and straighten the backrest.
After landing in San Diego, she first cursed a flight attendant and then slapped her in the face.
The woman is now facing charges of assault.
She is locked out of flights with Southwest for life.
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