By Wilson Wong - NBC News
Five passengers face
fines totaling more than $ 60,000
for aircraft incidents, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported Monday.
Passengers will be penalized with amounts ranging from $ 9,000 to $ 15,000 for interfering with flight attendants, who
ordered
them
to obey the crew's instructions
and federal regulations on mask use.
Two of the passengers are accused in addition to assaulting flight attendants.
The most serious incident occurred on
a JetBlue airline flight from Miami to Los Angeles
on February 22, when a passenger traveling in the main cabin received a glass of champagne, headphones and food from a first-class passenger, according to the FAA. .
[CDC allows vaccinated people to stop wearing mask indoors and outdoors]
A flight attendant forced him to return it, to which the passenger allegedly "shouted obscenities", followed him to the first class area and
attacked him
, "pushing him towards the bathroom," according to the FAA.
The flight was diverted to Austin, Texas, where the passenger was ejected from the plane and now faces a $ 15,000 fine.
Another passenger aboard an Alaska Airlines flight traveling from Virginia to Washington in January
faces a $ 15,000 fine
for pushing a flight attendant who was traveling the plane checking to see if travelers were wearing a mask, the FAA said.
Dr. Fauci insists that not everyone can stop wearing the mask
May 19, 202100: 31
A third incident took place in January, when a passenger on a JetBlue plane from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles used his cell phone to make a call and drank alcohol that he had brought on board, two activities that are prohibited during the flight.
The passenger, who faces a $ 15,000 fine, "repeatedly yelled" at the stewardess when she warned him that what he was doing was not allowed.
The other two incidents involved passengers who refused to comply with the federal mandate to wear a mask.
[Several states and supermarket chains lift the mandate to use a mask for vaccinated people]
The FAA
did not identify the five travelers
, but all of the incidents violated federal law, the agency said.
Passengers continue to be required to wear a mask on public transport, including airplanes, buses and trains, as well as at airports and stations, amid the pandemic.
The FAA this month warned air travelers that a spike in unruly or dangerous behavior was taking place aboard passenger jets.
The agency usually records between 100 and 150 incidents of misbehavior by passengers per year.
But during the pandemic that number has skyrocketed to 2,500, including about 1,900 passengers who refused to comply with the federal mandate to wear face masks, according to the FAA.
