Passenger Accused Of Assaulting Flight Attendant On Tampa-Bound Plane

TAMPA, FL — A passenger aboard a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Tampa International Airport from Denver was cited by Denver police Sunday after being accused of striking a flight attendant with an intercom phone.

Frontier Airlines released a statement confirming the incident, saying the woman was escorted off Flight 708 at Denver International Airport. The incident happened around 4 a.m.

“A customer became belligerent onboard and was asked to deplane. As she was deplaning, she picked up an intercom phone and struck a flight attendant with it,” said Frontier in its statement. “The customer was subsequently arrested by Denver law enforcement, and the flight departed for Tampa at approximately 5:30 a.m."

Denver police said the passenger was Shuri Turner. After citing her, police said they helped her book another flight to Tampa.

The incident is in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration, which investigates all reports of "unruly passengers" that airlines report to the agency.

It turns out that unruly passengers isn't all that uncommon.

Between Jan. 17, 2021, and April 17, 2022, the FAA contended with 1,272 reports of unruly passengers. Of those, 807 were related to face mask requirements.

The FAA said it has a zero-tolerance policy for unruliness, which not only includes hitting flight attendants with intercom phones but also interfering with the duties of a crew member, assaulting, threatening and intimidating crew members or fellow passengers.

Security violations are excluded. Those cases are handled by the Transportation Security Administration.

"The repercussions for passengers who engage in unruly behavior can be substantial," said the FAA. "They can be fined by the FAA or prosecuted on criminal charges:

The FAA can impose up to $37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases.