“In a typical year the agency will find yourself taking this kind of enforcement action in about 100 to 160 enforcement cases so it’s nothing new,” said Steve Dickson, the chief of the FAA, in an interview with ABC News last month. “What really is new is that the volume that we’re seeing right away.” In January, the administration people President Joe Biden issued an order that made it national law to wear a mask on airlines and other modes of transport. The order was issued to curb the spread of Covid-19 within the US, which has recorded the foremost infections within the world. Following this, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ruled that air passengers must wear face masks unless they need an exemption. The FAA says it’s enforcing a policy towards passengers who cause disturbances or fail to obey the mask requirement on flights. As a part of this policy, the agency unveiled plans to impose stricter penalties against unruly airline passengers in January this year. The agency said passengers could face fines of up to $35,000 (£24,700) and imprisonment. “The FAA has seen a disturbing increase in incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior,” the agency said. On Monday, the FAA announced actions against four passengers under these tougher rules, including one woman on a JetBlue flight accused of putting her finger in her nose and swearing at an attendant who asked her to place on her mask, forcing the pilot to divert. Other in-flight incidents have made headlines in recent months. One saw a passenger fined $52,500 for trying to open the cockpit door and hit a tender within the face twice on a Delta Air Lines flight in December. Last month, a Southwest Airlines passenger was caught on camera punching an attender after a clear dispute over mask policy turned violent.
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