Do not challenge a UA Flight Attendant. But I didn't ....?
On a United Airlines flight from Zurich to Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan 2, Bill Pollock asked a flight attendant about a sign telling passengers not to venture beyond the curtain separating economy class from the rest of the plane. Pollock, a book publisher from Burlingame, California, said he wanted to stretch his legs and visit his wife seated on the opposite aisle, using the passageway behind the galleys in the plane’s midsection.
But when he questioned a flight attendant on the policy and began recording their conversation using his cellphone, the situation quickly escalated: The flight attendant grabbed his phone and nearby federal air marshals intervened.
“Two marshals held me up against the counter, they had my hands behind my back,” Pollock said. “I wasn’t violent, I didn’t use four-letter words. All I did was ask this guy about the sign on the curtain and they flipped out.”
The flight was met by United personnel and security agents, who, Pollock said, took his statement and then sent him on his way. But the incident left him with lingering questions about his rights — like whether there is a policy restricting economy-class passengers to their own cabin (not just their own bathrooms), whether travelers are prohibited from videotaping flight crew and what recourse passengers have if airline or security personnel overreact.
It turns out, none of these questions has a clear answer.
Les Dorr, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency did not have a rule limiting passenger movement on a plane, but federal regulations state, “No person may assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with a crew member in the performance of the crew member’s duties aboard an aircraft.”:confused:
