Airlines refer 1,300 unruly passengers to US FAA: agency

The US FAA said Monday that airlines have referred approximately 1,300 unruly-passenger reports since February and the agency has identified potential violations in about 260 cases. In March, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said he would indefinitely extend a "zero tolerance policy" on unruly air passengers first imposed in January, and said that airlines had reported hundrends of cases since December -- most which involved passengers not wearing masks as required on airplanes. The FAA has initiated about 20 enforcement cases and is preparing a number of additional enforcement actions, the agency said Monday. The US TSA on Friday extended a federal mandate on wearing face masks onboard airplanes and in airports and in other transit modes through Sept 13 that had been set to expire May 11. Dickson said in March the zero tolerance policy would last until at least as long as the federal transit mask requirements. Delta has banned more than 1,200 passengers for failing to wear masks from future flights but not all of those have been referred to the FAA. On Friday, TSA said transportation system operators have reported almost 2,000 passengers for refusing to wear a face mask since Feb. 2 when the federal requirements took effect. TSA will assess civil penalties if necessary, and afford due process to those fined, the agency said.<br/>