The timing was not great, to be sure.
But hours after two senators delivered letters to the Department of Justice and the Federal Aviation Administration about the severity of onboard criminal activity by passengers, the FAA - after a scheduled meeting with aviation industry groups - then turned around and put it on the airlines.
The FAA on Tuesday urged representatives of major U.S. airlines to not only come up with a better plan to deal with unruly passengers but to come back with a report in a week on how to do it.
The FAA already had meetings scheduled with industry groups including Airlines for America and the Regional Airline Association, so the timing was a tough coincidence after receiving the letters.
But the FAA said in a statement following the meeting that the agency "asked the airlines to commit to take more action and tell the FAA in a week the additional steps they will implement during the next month to curb unruly behavior," according to Reuters News Service.
Airlines for America told FOX Business that the organization is on board with the FAA's initiatives "aimed at preventing and responding to unruly passenger incidents," and that it took issue with how the gathering was presented by some in the press.
"The narrative in media coverage following today's meeting with the FAA was misleading at best and not at all reflective of the collaborative conversations and cooperative steps that have been taken over the past several months," Airlines for America said in a statement. "We are surprised by reports that are not consistent with the tone or substance of today's meeting and are destructive to the spirit of trust and partnership that has been cultivated between our government partners and industry. Further, such reports do not productively address the issue and distract from our joint mission to prioritize the safety of all travelers."
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson's tweeted much the same message following the meeting
The FAA has communicated its zero tolerance policy and has imposed huge fines on passengers who engage in unruly behavior, especially physical altercations. But it hasn't stopped more than 4,000 onboard incidents this year, many related to the federal mask mandate.
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