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Disruptive Passenger Causes United Flight to Return to Newark

April 26, 2023

A United flight bound for Israel was forced to turn around and return to Newark airport early Sunday morning due to a disruptive passenger. The flight, which had already been delayed by two hours, had only been in the air for three hours before the incident occurred.

According to Local News Outlets, the passenger sat in a seat reserved for flight attendants while waiting to use the bathroom. When asked to move by a crew member, the man refused and began arguing with flight attendants.

Upon arrival back in Newark, law enforcement escorted the man off the plane. United Airlines released a statement saying, "United Flight 90 traveling from Newark to Tel Aviv returned to Newark shortly after takeoff due to a disruptive passenger. Law enforcement met the aircraft and removed the passenger. A new flight was scheduled to depart Sunday evening."

The flight, originally scheduled to depart at 10:55 p.m., left Newark at 12:48 a.m. and arrived at the airport at 6:28 a.m., according to FlightAware.com. Passengers were booked onto a new flight for late Sunday.

In response to the growing number of air rage incidents, unions, including the Machinists Union and other airline workers, have called on the government, airlines, and airports to take stronger measures to reduce the number of unruly passenger incidents. Some of their proposals include banning to-go alcohol sales at airports, sharing internal no-fly lists between airlines so that banned passengers cannot disrupt another flight, and increasing fines and other penalties for disruptive and abusive behavior. 

Additionally, U.S. Senate and House members have proposed a new no-fly list for unruly passengers that would allow the Transportation Security Administration to ban people convicted or fined for assaulting or interfering with airline crew members.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have introduced new bipartisan legislation that could stiffen penalties against offenders convicted of assaulting flight crew aboard an aircraft and place them on a commercial no-fly list. 

 The proposed legislation, called the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act, is aimed at protecting travelers and frontline aircrew members from physical abuse that has become more frequent during flights. The lawmakers say the enhanced penalty will serve as a strong deterrent against combative passengers and is needed to improve the safety of frontline aviation crews, attendants, and passengers.

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