FAA aims to fine disruptive air passengers up to $31,750 under its zero-tolerance policy

WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it is seeking fines of up to $31,750 for three more passengers who allegedly disrupted flights by disobeying or interfering with flight attendants.

They mark the latest in a series of civil penalties sought by FAA since the agency announced a "zero-tolerance" policy against disruptive air travelers.

Each of the latest incidents involved alcohol.

On a Jan. 4 JetBlue Airways flights from Haiti to Boston, a man drank alcohol that he had brought on board, then began yelling and grabbed the arms of two flight attendants. The crew moved nearby passengers to other seats and called police to meet the plane when it landed. The FAA proposed a $31,750 fine against the man.

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The FAA is seeking a $16,750 penalty against another passenger on the same flight, saying he too was drinking alcohol he had brought on board, shouted obscenities, and "made motions to strike a flight attendant." Police escorted him off the plane in Boston.

The agency is a $14,500 fine against a man on a Jan. 14 SkyWest flight from Yuma, Arizona, to Dallas-Fort Worth. The FAA said he drank "multiple" mini bottles of his own alcohol and bothered other passengers. Flight attendants moved him, but he left his seat, at one point starting toward the front of the plane.

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Two off-duty law enforcement officers wrestled the man back into his seat, then sat in the row behind him, the FAA said. The captain asked police to meet the plane at the gate.

The passengers have 30 days to respond to FAA enforcement letters.