WASHINGTON (AP) – An airline passenger could pay $ 14,500 for refusing to wear a face mask and for consuming alcohol on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that it had proposed civil punishment for a passenger on a Dec. 23 JetBlue Airways flight that left New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport for the Dominican Republic but returned to JFK because of the man’s behavior.
The FAA said the man crammed a passenger in the next seat, spoke loudly and ignored a flight attendant’s request to wear a mask. He also refused to stop the alcohol he brought on board, which is prohibited by federal regulations, the agency said.
The flight attendants complained twice to the pilots. The captain declared an emergency and returned to JFK, where police were waiting and escorted the man from the plane, according to the FAA.
The man has not been identified.
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