As most people know, bringing firearms on an airplane in checked bags was previously legal as long as they were unloaded and in a hard, sealed container. However, following the events that took place last week where protestors stormed the capitol, many airlines have taken a stand to prevent problems on their own. They are now prohibiting guns in checked luggage for all flights going to the Washington DC area. The first airline to make this statement was Delta, and they were followed by United, Alaska, American and Southwest, who will all be following the same protocol up to a few days after inauguration day. At this time, Spirit and JetBlue have not responded to the actions of its competitors.
One airline took the same situation to put stricter rules in place. American Airlines will no longer be serving alcoholic beverages on flights to and from the DC area. Most airlines are also moving any flight attendants from staying in hotels in downtown, just to be safe.
Lastly, the security in airports is definitely getting much tighter due to all airlines taking extra precautions. It was asked by the FBI that all identified people in the Capitol riots be placed on a no-fly list, but that has not occurred yet. Many politicians who are publically anti-trump have flown through public airports and were harrassed verbally and physically by Trump supporters. In addition to that, many of these people harassed crew members because they refused to wear a mask. Alaska Air has already banned over 14 people from flying with them.
You can expect all of these restrictions to last through the inauguration just to be safe.
Here is the link to the full article:
Hey Liv, I actually wasn't aware that you were allowed to bring firearms on flights. I'm not surprised that many airlines are beginning to take extra precaution before the inauguration. I'm a little shocked that JetBlue and Spirit haven't made any additional rules that prevented everyone from bringing any firearms to DC during the week of the inauguration. Do you think the breach into the Capitol airport security might become more strict in D.C.?
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia, I had no idea that may airlines decided to add restrictions due to what happened at the Capitol. I think it is very smart of airlines to prohibit bringing firearms on planes even if it is going to be checked baggage. I believe that JetBlue and Spirit are going to lose a lot of business from not following the other airlines because some people will not feel safe flying to and from DC. I also am really surprised to hear that American Airlines are no longer serving alcoholic beverages on flights to and from DC because I have never heard of anything like this happening. I think that it so sad that this is what the world has come to. We can't even trust our own people.
ReplyDeleteHey liv,
ReplyDeletethis was really interesting to read because I havent hear anything on the airports response to the capitol riots. Whether this means that these companies are losing customers or not, I think these precautions are very much necessary for the safety of the passengers along with our country. After seeing OUR OWN CAPITAL breached I can only imagine was these people would do on flights to tarnish the safety of our country.