Republicans attempting to derail airline request for federal 'no-fly' list for disruptive passengers: report

Despite a request from Delta Airlines for a federal "no-fly" list aimed at banning disruptive and combative passengers, Business Insider is reporting that the possibility of just such a list is facing headwinds from some Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

According to the report, the Atlanta-based airline has appealed to President Joe Biden's administration -- including a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland -- for help against passengers who can't control themselves and have been endangering both their fellow passengers and airline crews alike.

As Delta CEO Ed Bastian said earlier this week: "Actions have consequences."

Appearing on "Good Morning America," he elaborated, "Any individual that's disruptive aboard an airplane, that gets in the way of customer and employee safety needs to be addressed at the highest possible level."

Business Insider's Taylor Rains reported that experts claim it is possible to come up with such a list, but not without difficulty.

According to Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, "We're talking about a very sensitive matter, and there are a lot of parties involved and a lot of scenarios to consider. I don't expect this to happen overnight, but I do hope it happens and happens as swiftly as it possibly can."

Speaking with Insider, he continued, "Some of it is obvious, like physical or verbal altercation, or interfering with the safe operation of the flight. But, they also need to build in safeguards so that a passenger who may just be rude, or perhaps did not hear a flight attendant tell him or her to do something, will not be put on the list unfairly."

According to the report, the ACLU has expressed concerns, calling the idea of a "no-fly" list a "bad idea" based on the U.S. government's spotty use of it to curtail terrorism.

"Our experience with government watch lists and ban lists has not been a good one," explained ACLU policy analyst Jay Stanley.

Members of the Republican Party present a larger obstacle as a handful of Republican senators began their own campaign to derail the proposal.

"In a letter signed on Monday, eight GOP senators pressured the Justice Department to block the list. They claim the recent increase in unruly behavior is mask-related, so it would be unfair to punish those individuals," Insider reports before adding, "Moreover, they argued that a flight ban is excessive because, historically, a no-fly list was restricted to terror suspects. "

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