FAA urges airports to assist with unruly flyers

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has asked U.S. airports to assist in the government's effort to crack down on disruptive and violent air passengers, according to a letter made public Thursday.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

Amid a string of high-profile incidents involving disruptive and violent air passengers, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration asked U.S. airports - in a letter made public Thursday - to assist in the government's effort to crack down on unruly travelers.

Several recent in-air incidents have drawn wide public attention on social media, including this altercation, when a Frontier Airlines passenger accused of groping two flight attendants and punching a third on a flight from Philadelphia to Miami was taped to his seat for the duration of the flight and arrested after the plane landed.

The United States has seen a significant jump in reported cases of passengers causing disturbances on airplanes, including many for refusing to wear face masks.

Through Aug.

1, the FAA has received more than 3,700 reports of unruly passengers this year, with the vast majority of them involving passengers not wearing masks.

The FAA has initiated 628 investigations, more than three times the number last year.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who indefinitely extended a "zero tolerance policy" for unruly air passengers in March, told airport officials in his letter: "Every week, we see situations in which law enforcement was asked to meet an aircraft at the gate following an unruly passenger incident.

In some cases, flight attendants have reported being physically assaulted.

Nevertheless, many of these passengers were interviewed by local police and released without criminal charges of any kind." Dickson noted that alcohol often contributes to unsafe passenger behavior and asked airports to prevent passengers from taking alcoholic drinks on planes.