A man who was allegedly seen in a viral video punching a Southwest Airlines employee after being removed from a flight has been charged with battery.
Courney Drummond was arrested on Tuesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
His charges include simple battery, battery, and obstruction, according to law enforcement.
Police have said that Mr Drummond was removed from a flight for “behaving disorderly” and that he “refused to comply” with the flight crew when the Southwest Airlines flight was taxiing from the gate to the tarmac, prompting the plane to go back to the gate.
Following his removal from the plane, police say that Mr Drummond threatened a gate agent and then punched him. Police arrested him around 9.19pm.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement to The Independent that the company “has zero tolerance for any type of assault against our Employees or Customers. As a result of this inexcusable attack, the individual has been banned from flying with Southwest Airlines”.
“We commend the quick actions of the Southwest Team who responded to protect their colleagues during this unacceptable event. We also appreciate the local law enforcement officers who responded to assist, and we will fully support their investigation,” the company added.
The Clayton County Jail website states that Mr Drummond, of Henderson, Nevada, is being held a the facility. It remains unclear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data show a sharp increase in the number of incidents involving unruly passenger behaviour. Last year, 1,099 investigations were launched into incidents of unruly passenger behaviour as travel began to rebound following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, 183 investigations were started as lockdowns limited travel. There have already been more investigations launched this year – 274 – than during the entirety of 2020.
The FAA issued a zero tolerance policy in January of last year and began issuing fines instead of warnings to unruly passengers. The agency said in September that the number of incidents had decreased since they instituted the new rule.
The agency proposed $5m in fines against passengers last year. According to the FAA, 66 per cent of the incidents have been related to the wearing of face masks.
The Transport Workers Union of America Local 556 represents more than 16,000 members of Southwest staff. They wrote a letter to the Biden administration this week, requesting that the federal mask mandate for public transport be lifted. They cited the issues they face as they attempt to enforce the mandate.
“Serving onboard during these contentious times and enforcing mask compliance is one of the most difficult jobs we have ever faced as flight attendants,” the union said in the letter. “The number of physical and verbal assaults in our workplace has increased dramatically, many of which are related to mask compliance.”
