TSA is resuming self-defense classes for flight attendants and pilots to help them deal with violent passengers after they were canceled by COVID-19
Flight attendants and pilots will have the opportunity to resume taking TSA-approved self-defense classes next month - the first time they've been able to do so since COVID-19 canceled them last year.
Flight attendant unions first lobbied to create self-defense training programs after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorists who hijacked and crashed four planes attacked several flight attendants and passengers before storming the cockpits.
'Since a flight attendant was the first to perish, we wanted to make sure that we could protect ourselves from physical altercations, on and off the aircraft,' said Lyn Montgomery, president of the union local that represents Southwest Airlines flight attendants. 'Right now it's really needed, it's incredibly valuable.'
The voluntary four-hour training is offered to flight crew members free of charge and is held at 24 locations around the United States. A TSA video filmed in 2017 of one training class shows flight attendants practicing moves on a dummy and learning to disarm and apprehend by targeting areas like the eyes, face and groin.
The official currently running the TSA scheme, Darby LaJoye, said the agency hopes airline crews never have to use the training, but it is critical that they be prepared for any situations that might arise.
'Through this training program, TSA's Federal Air Marshals are able to impart their specialized expertise in defending against and deescalating an attack while in an aircraft environment,' said Darby LaJoye, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the TSA Administrator, in a statement.
'While it is our hope that flight crew members never have need for these tactics, it is critical to everyone's safety that they be well-prepared to handle situations as they arise.'
Flight attendants and pilots will have the opportunity to resume taking self-defense classes, which were on hold through the coronavirus pandemic, early next month
A TSA video filmed in 2017 of one training class shows flight attendants practicing moves on a dummy
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, who also advocated making the classes mandatory, nonetheless praised TSA for restarting voluntary ones now because of the surge in confrontations on flights.
'This training was incredible,' she says in the video. 'It's empowering, it gives confidence to flight attendants. We learn through video some of these tactics and techniques, but nothing takes the place of hands on training and practice and feedback.'
Nelson is also a Boston-based flight attendant who often flew Flight 175, the same flight number that crashed in New York. 'Those were my friends,' she says, stifling back tears. 'So for me, it's intensely personal and its real every single day when we go to work . . . This is something that every single flight attendant in the industry could relate to. This training relates to filling our role today in a post-9/11 world.'
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been about 3,000 reports of disturbances on flights, 2,350 of which stemmed from passengers refusing to wear masks. There were 146 reported cases in 2019.
This comes as the FAA is adapted a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to handling unruly passengers publicizing potential fines that top at $30,000 against dozens of passengers in over 400 cases. That is about three times the full-year average number of cases over the past decade, according to FAA figures.
Eight passengers who recently displayed unruly and dangerous behavior are facing fines from $9,000 to $22,000. And, as of June 22, the F.A.A. said it has proposed $563,800 in fines against unruly passengers, according to DNYUZ.
In May, four people faced $70,000 in civil fines for clashing with airline crews over mask requirements and other safety instructions, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
One of the most notable recent disturbances happened last month on a Southwest plane in San Diego, California.
Vyvianna Quinonez, left, allegedly grew irate when she was told to buckle her seatbelt during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego on Sunday
The flight attendant, who was not named, was pictured with a bloodied face and wheeled off the flight in a wheelchair
The flight attendant lost two teeth and suffered other injuries to her face and was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital
Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, allegedly grew irate when she was told to buckle her seatbelt during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego on Sunday and punched the flight attendant in the face, KTXL reported.
Quinonez was escorted off the flight by Port of San Diego Harbor police as the flight attendant, who was not named, was pictured with a bloodied face and wheeled off the flight in a wheelchair.
The flight attendant lost two teeth and suffered other injuries to her face and was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital, KFMB-TV reported. She was later released from the hospital and Southwest flew a friend to San Diego to be with her.
Cops charged Quinonez with felony battery causing serious bodily injury and she was released on a $35,000 bail, KFMB reporter Abbie Alford posted on Facebook.
Then, in June, passengers on a Delta flight on June 4 tackled a passenger who tried to break into the cockpit in mid-air while screaming 'Stop this plane!'
The unidentified man flew into a rage on the flight from Los Angeles to Nashville when flight attendant Christopher Williams and passengers restrained him with zip ties.
Delta Flight 386 from Los Angeles to Nashville was diverted to Albuquerque after an unruly passenger tried to breach the cockpit
Flight attendant Christopher Williams, pictured in purple, has been for his heroic actions in detaining the man, whose identity has not been revealed
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