SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines is making some major changes for passengers after the Washington, D.C. riots last week.
Passengers flying to the D.C. area will see new restrictions.
Firearms, of course, have long been banned in carry-on bags, but now passengers on some airlines won’t be allowed to check a bag if there’s a gun inside, either.
>>Calls grow to crack down on unruly airline passengers
The temporary ban from Alaska, Delta, United, Southwest and American starts Saturday and ends Jan. 23.
Alaska Airlines’ measures don’t stop at the firearms ban. Passengers traveling to and from D.C. will have to stay in their seats for an hour after takeoff and an hour before landing.
More staff will be on hand during those flights to ensure passengers follow that rule, and if they don’t, flights could land or turn back to the airport.
The changes come after more than a dozen passengers on a flight from D.C. last week took off their masks and refused to put them back on. The airline described the passengers on the flight as “rowdy, argumentative” and harassing.
The passengers were banned from future Alaska Airlines flights.
The National Flight Attendants Union issued a statement, saying the passengers created “unsafe conditions during flight” and should be held “accountable under the law.”
The airline has 303 people on an active ban list.
Cox Media Group
