The FAA emphasizes "zero tolerance" for passengers without face masks

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) emphasizes "zero tolerance" for passengers without face masks and has proposed several fines for "disobedient" passengers. The highest fine ($ 32,750) is likely to be imposed on a lady who flew from the Dominican Republic to New York in February. The passenger did not wear a veil and refused to put it on even after several reprimands from the flight crew. In addition, she committed other offenses. The FAA reports in a press release that the passenger blew up food and an empty bottle of alcohol, shouted vulgar expressions at the crew, grabbed the flight attendant's arm and caused her pain, and twice hit another steward's hand and scratched him. Among other things, she also consumed her own alcohol. Due to inappropriate passenger behavior, the plane had to return to the Dominican Republic. Another sanction, amounting to $ 16,500, was proposed by a man who was headed from Chicago to the California capital Sacramento in December. According to the FAA, he refused to put on a veil on boarding and after settling in place. As soon as he was alerted to the duty of mouth and nose protection by another member of the crew, he became aggressive and vulgar. The passenger had to leave the plane. As he headed for the exit of the plane, he called two crew members "pathetic" and hit one with his bags. The heavy financial penalty is unlikely to be missed by a passenger heading from Montana to Washington at the end of January. The plane was on the runway, but the man refused to cover his mouth and nose. The captain had to head the plane back to the departure gate and drop the passenger off. He faces a $ 9,000 fine. The so-called zero tolerance policy has been in force in the US since January this year. The FAA has seen a worrying increase in cases where passengers have complicated flights with their threatening or aggressive behavior. According to the FAA, frequent incidents on board aircraft had two main causes. One group of people simply refused to wear a veil on board and risked spreading the coronavirus to others. The second reason is related to the presidential election and the subsequent attack on the Capitol. Trump's ardent supporters refused to wear veils and harassed passengers and crew. The office thus had to react to the situation and create a special program. "The FAA is strictly enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on passengers who disrupt the flight or do not follow the flight crew's instructions in violation of FAA regulations or behave in violation of federal laws," the office said in a press release.