With stories about breaking up fights, hiding behind carts and having had luggage thrown at them, flight crews appealed to travelers at Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday for sanity in the skies and support for a law that would ground the most violent passengers.
Union flight attendants were handing out red cards to travelers entering Terminal A, asking them to support the Transport Workers Union “Assault Won’t Fly” campaign and legislation that would ban passengers who have been convicted of assaulting flight crews or security officers.
But it’s the stories behind the cards that crew members told that are cringe-worthy.
Each of the three flight attendants interviewed had a story about themselves or a colleague being abused verbally or physically for doing their job.
In many cases, the abuse started after a routine request or when there was a problem that is out of the flight crews’ control, such as delays or cancellations. Drinking alcohol to excess also has been a factor, they said.
Willingboro resident Tiffany Humes is a JetBlue flight attendant at Newark Airport and said she has had to serve as a referee between passengers, break up fights and endure abuse for conditions beyond her control.
“We had an incident where the plane had to sit out on the tarmac and was delayed for two hours, and the crew felt so unsafe they used a cart to get behind just because customers were getting so upset and agitated with them,” Humes said. “They take it out on crew members.”
She said she hopes the campaign and legislation would “cause people to think before they act and attack someone because they are doing their job.”
“The biggest problem is when alcohol gets involved,” Humes said. “I had a problem when a customer who was a little intoxicated and had an interaction with another customer. It escalated and I had to get involved and try to prevent a fight from occurring.”
In that case, one passenger was about to attack the other customer from behind, she said. As a union representative for TWU local 579, Humes said she hears complaints from the 270 members.
The union has a national “assault won’t fly” campaign, said Thom McDaniel, TWU international vice president and flight attendant with Southwest Airlines for 31 years. Union members handed cards to passengers detailing the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act and the anti-abuse campaign.
The bill would create a national airline-wide flying ban for anyone convicted of abusing an airline worker and would take away their access to TSA pre-check (expedited security screening), he said. The duration of a ban is up to the TSA, and bans could be issued based on the severity of the attack, McDaniel said.
“We understand passengers’ frustrations because of cancelations... While there are current laws that prohibit interfering with crew members responsibilities, very often they are not prosecuted,” McDaniel said. This is really focused on physical assault, he noted.
“We’ve had many cases where a passenger will abuse a flight attendant or another passenger and the police might meet them at the plane, but they don’t really enforce the rule,” he said.
He’s seen incidents where a flight attendant was attacked by a passenger who tried to open the airplane’s emergency exit, and flight attendants who have suffered broken teeth and concussions from being shoved by passengers, he said.
Federal Aviation Administration statistic showed a spike in reported incidents in 2021, hitting a high of 5,973 unruly passenger reports. That declined to 2,455 in 2022. So far, as of Aug. 27, 1,334 unruly passenger incidents have been reported to the FAA this year.
Karla Kozak of New York City, who’s been a Southwest flight attendant for three decades, said she saw a colleague assaulted by a passengers who smashed her head against the side of the aircraft so badly, she was out of work for three years.
Personally, Kozak said she’s endured everything from verbal abuse to having a suitcase and coffee thrown at her.
“We are trained in de-escalation and hospitality, and customer abuse is unacceptable,” she said. “We’re asking people to stop.”
Union officials pushed for these measures to be part of a recent FAA reauthorization bill, along with legislators such as U.S. Rep. Bonnie Coleman Watson, D-12th Dist., who is a co-sponsor of the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act.
“The safety of flight attendants is paramount to the safety of everyone on board. Their primary mission is the safety of passengers, and we must do everything we can to aid them in that mission,” the congresswoman said in a statement. “The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act is an important step in keeping passengers with a history of unruly and violent behavior from putting flight attendants and their fellow passengers at risk.”
The bipartisan bill passed the the House in July 2023 and is waiting for a vote in the U.S. Senate. That bipartisan bill also includes protections from assault such as reformed assault prevention plans and increased self-defense and de-escalation training. Flight crew members interviewed on Tuesday said they’ve received the training.
“We need to put an end to assaults against our airline workers and make sure these criminals are brought to justice and held accountable,” said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist. “If you put your hands on an airline worker, you should never be allowed to fly again, period.”
The legislation, which Gottheimer supports, is important because airline employees keep the public and economy moving at some of the world’s busiest airports here in Jersey and the tri-state area, he said.
Information events similar to what was done at Newark have been held at other airports, including John F. Kennedy International in New York, as well as airports in Houston and Chicago. And passengers who union members spoke to generally understood what the campaign was about, he said.
But there is more work that needs to be done.
“Since COVID, it’s gotten worse,” said Humes, the JetBlue flight attendant. “Some of the incidents are alcohol related, some are delays, or (passengers) are unhappy crew members spoke to them to tell them not to do something.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected].
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