In Case You Haven't Heard…

Abstract

It's probably something you actually have heard, more than once: alcohol can fuel “asymptomatic behavior,” in the words of American Airlines, which is going to stop serving it (except for in first and business class), or violence (we feel justified in calling it that when it involves a flyer punching a flight attendant in the face). Both AA and Southwest announced new policies last week curtailing the serving of alcohol because of “unruly” passengers. Most of these reports documented by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have involved a new side of public life, not just intoxication, but now refusal to wear a mask. “We have just never seen anything like this,” Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said last week during a meeting with federal aviation officials, according to The New York Times. “We've never seen it so bad. Steve Dickson, the F.A.A. administrator, said the agency has a ‘zero‐tolerance policy’ for passengers who cause disturbances on flights or fail to obey instructions from the flight crew, and added that passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must wear masks on planes and in airports. “But this isn't just about face masks,” Dickson said. “We've seen incidents related to alcohol, violence toward flight attendants and abusive behavior in general.”