Additional airlines ban guns on flights to DC ahead of inauguration

Three more airlines have followed Delta’s lead in saying they will bar passengers on flights to Washington, D.C., from carrying guns in their checked bags ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.

United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will all impose the rules from Saturday through Jan. 23, according to The Associated Press.

American will take the additional measure of barring the serving of alcohol on flights to and from D.C. from Saturday through Thursday, while multiple carriers will also move their crews out of lodging in downtown Washington, according to the AP.

Security and safety measures around Inauguration Day have been ramped up since last week’s deadly riot at the Capitol, which killed five people.

The Federal Aviation Administration has also announced it will no longer issue a warning to passengers who assault crew members or passengers, instead proceeding directly to referring them to law enforcement.

Sara Nelson, the influential head of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, has called for those charged with participating in the riot to be placed on the federal no-fly list, which an FBI official said earlier this week is under consideration.

There have also been at least two incidents since the riot of lawmakers being harassed in airports, including several people heckling Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on a flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Washington. Delta CEO Ed Bastian told the AP the company has identified six people involved in the incident, “and they will never fly Delta again.”

Days later, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) was harassed at Washington’s Reagan National Airport over his refusal to join some Republicans in a congressional challenge to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Aviation security expert Jeffrey Price of Denver’s Metropolitan State University said these measures still put too much on the shoulders of flight crew, and that further air marshals on Washington-bound flights are needed.

“There have been too many incidents of flight disruptions, and flight crew should not be expected to handle these, lest they turn violent,” he told the AP.