Video posted to social media shows a United Airlines gate agent being punched by a passenger at Washington Dulles International Airport. News4’s Jessica Albert reports.
It’s a four-second video that’s difficult to watch.
Video posted to social media shows a United Airlines gate agent being punched by a passenger at Washington Dulles International Airport.
“My immediate reaction was that I was horrified,” said Richie Johnsen of the Machinists Union, which represents the gate agent and is the largest airline union in North America.
The video was shot Thursday night at gate D12. The video appears to show a frustrated passenger punching a customer service agent in the face. The employee falls to the ground.
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“The representative that was assaulted is going to be OK physically,” Johnsen said. “He did have to go to the hospital. He is banged up and bruised.”
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police say the passenger is Christopher Crittenden, 54, of Frederick, Maryland. He was charged with assault and disorderly conduct. United said he's banned from flying on the airline’s flights.
Johnsen said airport workers face repeated assaults.
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“This just continues to happen over and over again,” he said. “[…] What’s it going to take? Is someone going to have to get, I don’t know, hurt so badly that someone finally takes notice of this?”
The FAA has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of conduct. So far this year, the agency says it has received 276 reports of unruly passengers. That figure is down from this time last year, when there were almost 500 reports.
The Machinists Union said attacks must stop. They’re pushing for stronger legislation and stiffer penalties.
“It’s gotta be more than just the airlines,” Johnsen said. “There has to be some sort of legal ramifications for these folks more than just, ‘You can’t fly on our airline.’”
Crittenden was a Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service captain until his retirement in 2021.
The charges he faces are misdemeanors. He is expected in court next month.
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