FAA's Zero-Tolerance Unruly Passenger Policy to Be Permanent

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday the agency's "zero-tolerance policy" for addressing unruly passengers will become permanent even after a court ended transportation mask requirements.

Then FAA Administrator Steve Dickson first imposed the policy in January 2021 and later said it would remain as least as long as an order was in place requiring masks onboard airplanes.

A federal judge on Monday struck the down the 14-month-old transportation mask policy.

In early February, Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Ed Bastian said he wants the U.S. government to place passengers convicted of on-board disruptions on a national "no-fly" list that would bar them from future travel on any commercial airline, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Bastian, in a previously unreported letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, said the action "will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft."