Alaska Airlines may ban 14 passengers who refused masks on flight to Seattle

Alaska Airlines may soon be banning more than a dozen passengers whose behavior was deemed "unacceptable" on a recent flight from Washington, D.C., to Seattle.

An airline spokesperson confirmed that the offending passengers, of which there were at least 14, had refused to wear masks (as per Alaska’s current coronavirus policy) and also harassed crew members during the flight, which took off from Dulles International Airport for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Thursday,.

"Last night, a number of passengers on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1085 from Washington Dulles to Seattle were non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members. Their behavior was unacceptable," a spokesperson for the carrier said in a statement obtained by Fox News.

"We will not tolerate any disturbance onboard our aircraft or at any of the airports we serve," the statement later added.

Alaska Airlines had also confirmed the potential ban of these passengers from future flights.

Thursday’s incident follows the airline industry publicly announcing larger changes to current policy in the wake of Wednesday’s rioting at the U.S. Capitol, during which a mob breached the entrance and stormed the building. The ensuing chaos resulted in at least 70 arrests by Thursday morning, as well as the deaths of at least five people who had either suffered medical emergencies or serious injury. Police confirmed that U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was among those who died of injuries sustained during the riots.

Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, has since called for the ban of any persons who participated in the "violent and seditious actions at the Capitol," urging the U.S. government to "disqualify these individuals from the freedom of flight."

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines had also confirmed heightened security measures at D.C.-area airports, with the latter confirming to Fox News that alcohol will no longer be sold on flights to or leaving from the D.C. area.

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