WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two U.S. lawmakers are proposing a new bill that would place violent flight passengers on a lifetime commercial no-fly list managed by the Transportation Security Administration.
The "Protection from Abusive Passengers Act," proposed by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) and U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), aims to "improve air travel safety, increase traveler protections, reduce the number of in-flight violent incidents, and hold unruly passengers accountable." In addition to being placed on a no-fly list, convicted violent passengers would also permanently be banned from participating in the TSA PreCheck or Customs' Global Entry programs.
Unruly violent passengers would be first given a notice from the TSA and an opportunity to appeal before being placed on the permanent no-fly list, said Swalwell told KTVU on Tuesday This would be a civil penalty; passengers could also be subject to any local criminal prosecutions.The move comes in the same week that Southwest passenger faces federal charges after allegedly masturbating on a flight from Seattle to Phoenix and month after the FBI sent 80 unruly airline passenger cases to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution. SEE ALSO: Southwest passenger arrested for masturbating 4 times during flight"Most of us who fly don't have to worry about this," Swalwell said in an interview.