Unions representing tens of thousands of airport workers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to protect their members from disruptive and violent passengers.
Airlines have reported a surge in unruly customers during the pandemic, provoked they say by a combination of mask mandates and the after effects of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol last year.
And unions have already expressed concern that things could get worse as Southwestern plans to become the latest airline to resume serving alcohol, after halting the service in March 2020.
In a letter to President Joe Biden and key officials, the unions say that a crackdown on bad behavior on flights has not been extended to other frontline staff at airports.
‘The abuse of brave men and women on the frontlines of passenger safety is abhorrent and demands federal action,’ said Capt. David Bourne, Teamsters airline division director.
‘Without their work we wouldn’t have hundreds of thousands of Americans flying safely every day.
‘It needs to be made loud and clear that assault on an aircraft is no different than assault off of an aircraft: if you initiate it, you face criminal prosecution.’
Unions representing airport staff have written to President Biden and key officials demanding protections for airport staff who are having to deal with a surge in unruly passengers
The Federal Aviation Authority reported a record number of air rage attacks aboard planes last year – 5,981 – but the unions say violence against ground staff is not being recognized
The unions wrote to Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
The letter was sent by the Communications Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Transport Workers Union of America, and Transportation Trades Department.
They said that local law enforcement agencies and airport police departments had not been given clear guidance on how to respond to attacks.
‘These actions from the highest levels of government signal to our ground service members that their safety in the workplace is not a priority,’ the unions wrote in their letter to Biden,
The groups said that airport police departments and local law enforcement have not received clear guidance from the federal government on how to respond to attacks.
“These actions from the highest levels of government signal to our ground service members that their safety in the workplace is not a priority,’ the unions wrote to Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The increase in attacks on flight crews has been well documented.
At the end of last year the Federal Aviation Authority reported a record number of air rage attacks – with 5,981 reported in 2021, compared to only several hundred in previous years. Almost three quarters were related to face masks.
In their letter, the unions describe some of the worst incidents suffered by their airport members last year.
‘These incidents vary from passengers using racial epithets and slurs and other vulgar and harassing language to punching, biting, kicking, shoving and even spitting on ground service workers,’ they write.
‘These attacks cause long-term psychological and emotional distress among the workforce and put other passengers at risk
In June, an airport worker was physically attacked at the Charlotte Douglas Airport when an intoxicated passenger was not allowed to board. Two other members of staff were verbally abused.
In the same month, at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, an agent was punched in the face after warning a passenger that disruption aboard the flight
In July, two members of the CWA were assaulted after a dispute between two passengers at John F. Kennedy Airport.
And in November, a worker had to be taken to hospital after being punched in Dallas.
‘Despite the severity and frequency of these events, not a single passenger who has assaulted a ground service worker has been prosecuted under federal law,’ the unions said.
‘Airport police departments and local law enforcement agencies are currently tasked with responding to these incidents but have not received clear guidance from the federal government on their responsibilities under the law.’
The problems have led to calls for a nationwide no-fly list of unruly passengers.
Airlines already maintain their own lists, but Delta’s chief executive recently wrote to the Attorney General proposing an industry-wide system to protect staff and other passengers.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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