Airline safety: Transport workers union is launching ‘Strikes Don’t Fly’ campaign in Newark, pushing for better protection of passengers from violence

Newark, NJ (WABC) — Unionized airline workers staged a day of action Tuesday at Newark airport to push elected leaders to pass the Protecting Passengers from Abuse Act.

After reports of unruly passengers increased, airline staff decided it was time to take action.

As of Aug. 20, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had received nearly 1,300 of the planes. An average of more than 5 per day.

The Protecting Passengers from Abuse Act would ban violent passengers from flying and would also permanently ban abusive passengers from TSA PreCheck and Customs’ Global Entry program.

An in-person action will take place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to educate other airline staff and passengers about the Transport Workers Union’s (TWU) national campaign “Assaults Don’t Fly” and inform workers of the need to respond to rising incidents of airline assaults.

Attendees can access the pedestrian bridge located at Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal 1 (3 Brewster Drive, Newark, NJ).

During the event, TWU members will distribute luggage tags with the event name “Assault Can’t Fly,” as well as postcards with QR codes, and the website provides more event information.

The Assault Won’t Fly website can also be found here.