U.S. lawmakers make new push to bar convicted violent passengers from flights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of lawmakers on Wednesday will make a new push for legislation to bar passengers fined or convicted of serious physical violence from commercial flights after a series of recent high-profile incidents.

Senator Jack Reed and Representative Eric Swalwell, both Democrats, and Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick said Monday they plan to reintroduce the “Protection from Abusive Passengers Act.”

Despite the end of the airplane mask mandate in April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated 831 unruly passenger incidents in 2022, up from 146 in 2019, but down from 1,099 in 2021, the lawmakers noted.