Alaska Airlines tightens security on flights ahead of inauguration

[brooklynite]

Source: Seattle Times

Starting Friday, Alaska Airlines will implement new temporary security measures on its flights, particularly those headed to Washington, D.C. or nearby East Coast cities, to try to head off potential unruly behavior by passengers traveling to the capital to protest the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.

Alaska said it will limit the number of passengers on flights into the D.C. Metro area, increase mask enforcement, add extra cabin crew and set up a dedicated command center at its headquarters to monitor activity on those flights from check-in to arrival.

Command center staff will monitor every phase of the journey to “allow us to quickly respond to and resolve any incidents,” the airline said in a statement. “We have procedures to ensure compliance prior to departure and takeoff, and for turn-back or diversions, should the circumstance warrant.”

Alaska spokesperson Bobbie Egan said that “if there is any non-compliance, we are instructing our pilots to divert or, if the plane is still on the ground, to go back to the gate.”

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/alaska-airlines-tightens-security-on-flights-ahead-of-inauguration

---