Senators urge US Justice Dept to prosecute unruly air passengers

Two senior US Senate Democrats urged Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to investigate and prosecute unruly air passengers in the face of a rising number of incidents onboard airplanes. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell called on the Justice Department and FAA to coordinate efforts to "ensure qualifying passenger behavior is criminally prosecuted." "Civil penalties alone are failing to deter criminal activity by airline passengers," Durbin and Cantwell wrote in the letter to the FAA. The FAA and Justice Depatment did not immediately comment. In June, a group representing major US airlines and aviation unions also asked Garland to prosecute the growing number of disruptive and violent air passengers. The letter from Airlines for America said the "incidents pose a safety and security threat to our passengers and employees, and we respectfully request the (Justice Department) commit to the full and public prosecution of onboard acts of violence."<br/>