Delta airlines is now asking the federal government to step in and
do something about unruly airline passengers.
Now this has been a problem during the pandemic individuals who don't want to
wear masks become unruly, sometimes incredibly violent on flights,
it is a situation that needs to be dealt with.
However, what they're asking for here is for
the federal government to put unruly passengers on no fly lists.
I don't agree with that.
I'll tell you why in a minute.
But first the details.
So in a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday,
the Atlanta-based company's, this is Delta.
Chief Executive Edward H Bastian said such a list would reduce
the number of future incidents involving disruptive passengers.
It also would serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not
complying with crew member instructions he wrote.
Now when you think of the no fly list,
you should think about what was implemented during the Bush administration
in regard to anyone who might be suspected of being a terrorist.
The no fly list has had a lot of problems,
including random private citizens being placed on it.
They don't know why they were placed on it.
It is a disaster if you're trying to get off the no fly list.
But the no fly list is exactly what it sounds like,
you're not allowed to board a flight and fly anywhere.
And that's what they're asking for
when it comes to unruly passengers on these flights.
Now, Delta recently submitted more than 900 names to the TSA, so
that it could pursue civil penalties.
The CEO of Delta said while such cases represent a small fraction
of overall flights, the rate of incidents with unruly passengers on
Delta has increased nearly 100% since 2019 he wrote.
We fully support using the full force of the law in these cases.
Now Delta alone has put 1900 people on its no fly list for
refusing to comply with masking requirements.
So I worry about this and I know people don't like slippery slope arguments.
I'm gonna make a slippery slope argument.
Who gets to be the arbiter of who gets placed on that no fly list?
What are the specific standards in place?
I'm worried that the standards will loosen up a little too much to include people who
might be a pain in the butt, right?
And we certainly see people get combative at airports or
on flights because let's keep it real.
Sometimes traveling is difficult.
Sometimes it sucks.
Maybe your anxiety ridden.
Maybe you're stressed out.
I'm not making excuses for violent behavior, but
I remember what it was like to fly and I remember how easily you can
get under a flight attendant skin or upset a TSA agent.
Anything like you're terrified while you're going through security at
the airport because anything could be considered an offense.
So I think that what the federal government has already done is pretty
significant.
The US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation
administration has proposed another 531,550 foreign civil
penalties against individuals who become unruly on flights.
I mean the, it'll ruin you.
It'll bankrupt you.
I feel like that's enough of a deterrent.
I don't know.
Yeah, no, I do know.
I was thinking we were thinking of doing a poll on this and
decided not to because I think the answer is very clear.
Hell no, so let me explain.
Look, the guys who are doing it are mainly right wingers these days and
they're being completely unreasonable and it's causing a giant mess.
Should they have criminal and civil liability short?
They're breaking the law, they're massively inconveniencing others.
One flight from Miami to Dublin, I think had to turn back around.
And so God, if you're on that flight you'd be livid for
a great number of reasons including physical safety, right?
So sure do whatever you're gonna do regarding that particular incident, right?
But a lifetime ban, are you that's crazy.
Then the person can't travel at all.
What if you live in Kansas, what are you gonna have to drive to New York?
Drive to L A?
Drive everywhere?
Well what if you have to go to Europe?
We're gonna take a boat, take three months to get there.
No, this is way too heavy a penalty.
Especially because it's not even a celebrity slope.
First of all, I wouldn't even do it for an assault, okay?
Let alone what it's gonna devolve to, you know it you've all seen in airports and
airplanes.
Did you just talk back to me?
I mean, it's in a movie.
It's an anger management.
You know how, and that was way before any of this stuff.
Adam Sandler gets taste, etcetera.
Sir, calm down, right.
Half of us are gonna get banned from every from flying and
it over empowers people now.
Right now those flight attendants, the pilots, the center,
need all the help they can get.
>> Yes. >> So we're incredibly
sympathetic to them.
And obviously, we don't agree with the politics of the people that
are largely doing this these days, right?
But you, this is too heavy a penalty.
And it gives too much power to the other side at this point.
>> I agree, yeah.
>> And by the way,
any airline is a private corporation can make any individual decision they want.
Delta can ban that guy for life.
That's easy and there's nothing you can do about it.
And that's capitalism, right?
But for the government to say you're no longer allowed to fly anywhere is no,
that's preposterous and way too heavy a penalty.
>> So this was addressed by Pete Buttigieg who didn't wanna give a straight answer in
regard to what the federal government would be willing to do.
But I still thought this was interesting.
So let's take a quick look at this interview and then we'll discuss.
>> Certainly we support airlines taking steps to protect their passengers,
their crews and a number of airlines, including Delta, have done that.
They said that if you are behaving in a way that's unruly dangerous,
you can't fly on our airline anymore.
It gets a little more complex when there are proposals for
the government to do that.
The FAA is continuing to vigorously enforce and encourage referral,.
Criminal referrals were appropriate for this kind of behavior.
I mean, in 2022, we should not even have to say that when you're on an airplane,
you need to behave in a way that is safe and appropriate.
>> It sounds like you think a no fly list is really within
the purview of the airlines.
The private companies, not necessarily for the government to create.
>> Well, look, I think we need to continue to look at anything that will help keep
our skies safe.
What I'll say is that that many of the airlines have already taken that step
privately and we should continue to look at what we can do at a policy level.
Knowing that there's a lot of complexity when you try to do that
in a way that cuts across airlines and and is developed by the government.
>> This is why people hate politicians.
Just answer the question, no, we're not gonna do that.
Individual airlines can implement their own no fly list.
We're not gonna do that because it is like, there are issues with the federal
government putting American citizens on a no fly list based on whatever
interpretation the airline has in regard to that individual's behavior.
There are already methods of prosecuting people who commit
assault on a plane, right?
It is serious.
Like the consequences are not light.
And I think as long as that prosecution is something that they follow through with,
think that serves as enough of a deterrent.
No, this, look, none of this is, it makes any sense, okay.
You had a car accident because you were negligent.
That's what we're banning you from all the highways.
No, that's, that's crazy, right?
And Buttigieg, on the upside, glad to see that he hit puberty mustache,
finally growing in.
>> [INAUDIBLE] To Jesus.
If you notice in that clip on the other side, dude, just say it,
say you're not gonna do it, everybody knows you're not gonna do and that's good.
We'll even give you credit, right?
We'll give you credit, reasonable people will give you credit.
Just say you're not gonna do it because it's dumb, right?
No, but on the other hand, we're looking into committees and
just study it and blah and yeah, okay.
And now look I have to confess to being a little bit biased on this issue for those
of you who know, [LAUGH] I once famously got a little angry at an airport, right?
And I think I was completely justified and people like, have you apologized?
No, I got that plane for everyone else to take.
I was right and I didn't get on the plane, they were wrong.
It doesn't matter.
It isn't about me.
Right now we have, we don't have a no fly list for terrorists.
That to me is insane.
If we think you're a terrorist, shouldn't we just arrest you as soon as you show up
instead, we're like, no, we allow terrorists on flights.
But we're not gonna let people on flights because they didn't
put a mask on for the rest of their lives, no.
Look, we're the fairest, most honest show in America.
It agree with the right wing on this one.
This is insane.
Let's move on.