Delta Air Lines encourages other airlines to create no-fly list of unruly passengers

(KRDO) -- Delta Air Lines is pushing other airlines to create a national no-fly list of unruly passengers.

Earlier this week, the Association of Flight Attendants called on both regulators and airlines to coordinate their lists of unruly passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration has filed complaints against almost 44,000 passengers so far in 2021. Delta says it's banned roughly 1,600 passengers.

According to our ABC affiliate, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee called for more criminal prosecutions of unruly passengers. He also suggested airports should stop selling alcohol to go.

In July, the Association of Flight Attendants reported one in five of its members encountered a violent airplane passenger.

“When people are facing jail time for acting out on a plane, we suddenly see some sobering up,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. “We believe that the criminal penalties are critical to making it very clear that there are severe consequences for this type of action.”

In May, a passenger punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant after being asked to put her tray table up, buckle her seat belt, and wear a face mask. According to court records, the flight attendant's "left eye was bruised and swollen; she sustained a cut under her left eye, requiring four stitches; she had a bruise in the shape of fingers on her right forearm, and three of her teeth were chipped — two of her teeth sustained such serious damage they were replaced by crowns.”