Air passengers warned to wear masks and behave ahead of holiday

US government officials monitoring the airways say they won’t tolerate passengers who refuse to don masks as airline travel surges ahead of the summer season. A recent spike in unruly passenger reports, many of them involving people refusing to cover their faces, prompted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to issue a stern warning to travelers. “Let me be clear in underscoring something,” Mayorkas said. “It is a federal mandate that one must wear a mask in an airport, in the modes of public transportation, on the airplane itself -- and we will not tolerate behavior that violates the law.” Mayorkas didn’t specify how passengers would be punished, but both the TSA and the FAA have the authority to fine passengers who violate the law. In extreme cases, such as assaulting flight crews, people can face federal criminal charges. In the past two weeks, the FAA has proposed fines against nine passengers who allegedly interfered with flight attendants, including several in which flight crews were physically assaulted. Passenger counts still lag behind pre-pandemic times, but have risen dramatically this year. Since late January, the low point for air travel this year, airlines have added almost 1 million passengers a day on average, or an increase of about 150%. Despite fewer passengers, federal agencies have received thousands of complaints about unruly behavior this year.<br/>