US airline union urges ban on protesters who stormed Capitol

Supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday should not be allowed to leave the Washington area on commercial flights after exhibiting “mob mentality behaviour” on flights into the region, the head of a large flight attendants union said.

Sources at two US airlines said there had been unruly passengers on flights into the Washington, DC area on Tuesday, raising concern about their departure.

“The mob mentality behaviour that took place on several flights to the DC area yesterday was unacceptable and threatened the safety and security of every single person onboard,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA representing workers at 17 airlines, said in a statement.

“Acts against our democracy, our government and the freedom we claim as Americans must disqualify these individuals from the freedom of flight,” the statement said.

Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol hoping to overturn his election defeat, forcing Congress to postpone a session that would have certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

The head of the US Travel Association Roger Dow condemned the disruptions at the Capitol.

“The behavior we are witnessing has no place in any peaceful democracy, much less in the country that is supposed to be the foremost example of democratic principles,” Dow said in a statement.