WASHINGTON (AP) – An airline passenger could end up paying $ 14,500 for refusing to wear a face mask and drinking alcohol he had brought on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it proposed civil sanctions against a passenger on a Dec. 23 JetBlue Airways flight departing from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport bound for the Dominican Republic, but that he returned to JFK because of the man’s behavior.
The FAA said the man piled a passenger in the next seat, spoke out loud and ignored a flight attendant’s request to wear the mask. He also refused to stop drinking alcohol he was carrying on board, which is prohibited by federal regulation, the agency said.
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 was not identified.
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