Frontier passenger charged
A Frontier Airlines passenger faces several years in prison and a hefty fine for his actions that led to disruption on a domestic flight between Denver International Airport (DEN) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston.
According to a report by FOX 26 Houston, the passenger named Raul Ramos Tamayo has now been charged with “destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities.” If Tamayo is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000.
Currently, not much is known about the individual or his motive for disrupting the flight. Of course, more will be known in the coming days as the case progresses. According to FOX 26 Houston, Tamayo is a Cuban national, but it’s undetermined if he holds US citizenship.
Several individuals have been sentenced recently for their disruptive behavior in airplanes or airports. Last year, a woman was sentenced to four months in prison for violently assaulting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
What happened on the flight?
The incident occurred on February 4 on Frontier Airlines Flight 4856, which was flying from Denver to Houston.
It started around 20 minutes into the flight when Tamayo allegedly started speaking with the woman in the row in front of him.
When he didn’t receive the desired response from the female passenger, that’s when he reportedly got aggressive. A video circulating online shows fellow passengers trying to deal with the situation and restrain Tamayo.
One of the passengers was even heard saying that Tamayo was banging on the window. One of the passengers told ABC13 Houston,
“This guy was just going crazy. He was screaming in multiple languages, punching out the window and laying back and trying to kick it out. I wanted to help as much as I could.”
The disruptive passenger was eventually restrained and handed over to law enforcement officers upon landing.
Recent cases
Last month, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Chicago had to divert to Denver due to an unruly passenger. After the passenger was removed by police officers, the aircraft continued its journey to Chicago.
In December again, a Southwest Airlines flight between Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio, was forced to return to Phoenix after an altercation between two passengers onboard.
Rise in unruly passenger incidents
There’s been an increase in incidents of disruptive passenger behavior on board flights and even at airports. In fact, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States saw a rise in unruly passenger incidents in 2024.
Airlines in the country reported over 2,102 cases of unruly passengers, up 1% from 2023 when 2,076 were reported. Many of these cases were minor, in which the disruptive passengers had minimal impact on fellow passengers, but some cases were far more serious.
As of August 2024, 43 additional cases had been passed on to the FBI, and some of these incidents included threatening aggressors. This has been analyzed in detail in the article below.
