A California man who was captured on video punching an American Airlines flight attendant during a flight from Mexico to Los Angeles was arrested this week, the Justice Department said, the latest instance of unruly behavior in the skies as coronavirus restrictions loosen and travel picks up. The man, Alexander Tung Cuu Le, 33, of Westminster, Calif., was charged on Thursday with one count of interference with flight crew members, a day after he ran up to a flight attendant and punched him in the back of the head, the Justice Department said in a news release. Mr. Le could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Jelani Lindsey, a lawyer at the Office of the Federal Public Defender who is representing Le, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment on Thursday. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, a union that represents about 24,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, said in a statement that “this violent behavior puts the safety of all passengers and crew in jeopardy and must stop.” The charges against Le came as air travelers and crews continued to face an unusually high number of disruptions since the onset of the pandemic. In 2019, 146 investigations into unruliness on planes were initiated. So far in 2022, there have been 680 such investigations, according to data from the FAA.<br/>
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Qantas has reinstated a vegetarian meal for economy passengers on all domestic flights after a decision to remove the option on short-haul trips resulted in a fierce public backlash. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Qantas reduced its meal offerings for economy passengers travelling for less than 3.5 hours to one snack option, often a chicken and leek pie or a vegetarian quiche or corn fritter. The single option meant some vegetarian passengers missed out on a meal during their flights. The carrier said the decision to reduce the offering came due to “high levels of wastage”, but on Friday it said it would reinstate vegetarian options and fresh fruit on all flights. “Qantas will monitor take up of these options and make any further adjustments to make sure we reflect customer preferences,” a statement from the airline said. Passengers on all international flights, domestic Business and on domestic Economy cabins on flights over 2.5 hours are provided with a “range of dietary meal options”, the airline continued. Qantas also said it introduced plant-based options on “almost all” international flights last year and committed to phasing out single used plastics, often used in food packaging, on board and in its lounges. The airline’s executive manager of product Phil Capps said the airline was forced to make “alterations” to service during COVID-19 and was “in the process” of refreshing its menus.<br/>