Flying on an airplane can be an exciting experience especially if the destination is a vacation or to see friends or family you haven’t seen in awhile. However, even if the destination makes the hassle of dealing with security and sitting close to strangers on a plane worth it, the experience on board the airplane isn’t always pleasant.
When we think of unpleasant airplane experiences we think of babies crying, kids kicking the back of our seat and turbulence that makes some pray that they’ll land safely. Unfortunately, sometimes there are other things to worry about in the air besides unruly kids and normal movement of the airplane. We’re talking about out of control passengers.
It can be unsafe for everyone on board an airplane if the passengers misbehave. Sometimes passengers get upset because they don’t want to wear a face mask. Other times, passengers get upset because they’ve had too much to drink.
Recently, on a Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Miami, a 22-year-old man named Maxwell Berry groped two female flight attendants and punched a male flight attendant in the face. In order to keep everyone on the plane safe, the flight attendants restrained the passenger by duct taping him to his seat. Watch the video below for more about this story.
After Frontier Airlines saw a video of the flight attendants duct taping the passenger, the airline decided to suspend the crew while they investigated. The flight attendant’s union was outraged by this decision from Frontier. The union called for Frontier to support the crew and ensure that there is a safe work environment on board their airplanes. In response, Frontier changed their statement to say that the crew is on paid leave.
In a statement, Frontier explained, “Frontier Airlines maintains the utmost value, respect, concern and support for all of our flight attendants, including those who were assaulted on this flight. We are supporting the needs of these team members and are working with law enforcement to fully support the prosecution of the passenger involved. The inflight crew members’ current paid leave status is in line with an event of this nature pending an investigation.”