Maskless, boozing JetBlue passenger faces $14,500 fine
(Courtesy of JetBlue Airways)
NEW YORK - An airline passenger could wind up paying $14,500 for refusing to wear a face mask and drinking alcohol that he had brought on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it proposed the civil penalty against a passenger on a Dec. 23 JetBlue Airways flight that left New York's John F. Kennedy Airport bound for the Dominican Republic, but turned back to JFK because of the man's behavior.
The FAA said the man crowded a passenger in the next seat, spoke loudly, and ignored a flight attendant's request to wear his mask. He also refused to stop drinking alcohol that he brought on board, which is prohibited by federal regulation, the agency said.
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Flight attendants complained twice to the pilots. The captain declared an emergency and returned to JFK, where police were waiting, and escorted the man off the plane, according to the FAA.
The man was not identified.