A male airline passenger allegedly attacked a flight attendant and broke a bone in her face, on board a plane with the company American Airlines on Wednesday.
The incident took place on a flight from New York to Orange County, California. The incident led to the pilot landing the plane in Denver, where the passenger was temporarily arrested, according to Washington Post.
The flight attendant allegedly hid behind the passenger as she moved through the cabin in first class, according to Julie Hendrick, head of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).
Olle Palm (82) died in the plane crash
Not bandage-related
– The flight attendant apologized, but the passenger got up from the seat, confronted her and hit her in the face, Hendrick claims.
According to several international media, the male passenger allegedly hit the flight attendant twice in the face, before he sat down in his seat again.
Hendricks says the flight attendant was sent to hospital because the blows led to broken bones in the face. She was later discharged.
Witnesses are said to have described the incident as a dispute over the use of a mouthpiece, but American Airlines has stated that the incident is not a mouthpiece-related one. It reports CBS.
The CEO of American Airlines posted a video on Instagram after the incident.
– Last night, American Airlines had one of the worst incidents we have seen, when a passenger used violence and attacked one of our flight attendants, he writes.
– Can not fly with us again
Although such incidents are not the norm, even one incident is too much, and it must be stopped, he says.
– However, the passenger will never be allowed to fly with American again, and we do everything we can to ensure that he is prosecuted as much as possible, writes the CEO on Instagram.
The number of incidents in which air passengers have had “unruly behavior” has skyrocketed during the corona pandemic, according to the FAA. Many of the confrontations are the result of disagreements over demands for bandages.
Man (22) taped to plane
Of the 5,000 reported incidents, more than 3,500 of them are quarrelsome, according to the FAA. Others have involved alcohol, which has led some airlines to temporarily halt alcohol sales on board.
Julie Hendrick says that the association APFA is now putting pressure on the police to increase their presence, and says that they want better follow-up of passengers who are arrested.
– It’s not just about face masks. Our passengers have changed. Every day, the safety of our flight attendant and the safety of our passengers are threatened, she says.
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