A woman was charged in connection with an alleged assault that left a Southwest Airlines flight attendant injured and missing two teeth.
Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, faces a count of battery causing serious bodily injury for the assault against the unidentified Southwest Airlines employee, police said Tuesday.
The assault occurred during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego on Sunday morning, according to Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz.
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS URGE AIRLINES TO MAKE PANDEMIC TRAVEL CREDITS VALID INDEFINITELY
“The passenger ignored the flight crew’s instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing,” Mainz told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “Law enforcement officials were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody.”
Mainz declined to provide data on the frequency of such incidents, but Lyn Montgomery, president of Local 556 of Transport Workers Union, Southwest Airlines’s flight attendant union, said there were 477 incidents of “misconduct” by its passengers between April 8 and May 15, according to the Associated Press.
“Unfortunately, this is just one of many occurrences,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery asked Southwest CEO Gary Kelly to push for more federal air marshals on flights and to ban those customers who violate rules rather than rebook them, she said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the flight attendant union for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported a significant increase in unruly passenger incidents, including incidents in which passengers refuse to comply with mask requirements.
FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson on Jan. 13 ordered the agency’s enforcement regime to enforce federal laws against unruly passenger behavior more strictly in response to the increased frequency of incidents.
Dickson extended the FAA’s “zero-tolerance policy” March 16.
We have zero tolerance for unruly or dangerous behavior on an airplane. The consequences are serious: up to $35K in fines or imprisonment. #FlySmart https://t.co/EDFhsSS32X
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) May 26, 2021
“The number of cases we’re seeing is still far too high, and it tells us urgent action continues to be required,” he said at the time.
The FAA proposed civil penalties between $9,000 and $15,000 against five airline passengers for unruly behavior, including assault against flight attendants, the agency announced Monday.
The agency received 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, including 1,900 reports of people refusing to comply with federal masking requirements, it said.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to San Diego police for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
