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Home » Alaska Airlines » Alaska Airlines’ Absurd New Rule On Washington, DC Flights
Alaska AirlinesLaw In Travel

Alaska Airlines’ Absurd New Rule On Washington, DC Flights

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 15, 2021November 14, 2023 24 Comments

a yellow sign with a blue arrow pointing to a person walking

It feel like its 9/11 all over again…only this time we did not learn our lesson. Alaska Airlines has added a number of reasonable new restrictions to its Washington, DC flights along with one rule I find patently absurd.

Alaska Airlines Bolsters “Security” On Washington, DC Flights

We saw sedition on full display at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday and we have also seen so much poor behavior onboard airplanes lately, mostly by inconsiderate muttonheads who refuse to wear masks.

With so much emotion still swirling around the U.S. Presidential election, the District of Columbia has become an impenetrable fortress ahead of next week’s inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden. Fearing a repeat attack, airlines are also cracking down with a number of new restrictions.

Those include no alcohol or checking firearms on DC flights plus a no-tolerance approach to those who create disruptions onboard.

And that’s all well and good, totally appropriate for the occasion.

But Alaska Airlines is taking it a step further. Yes, Alaska is bringing back a 9/11-era rule on its flights to and from DC.

All passengers traveling to and from the DC metro area must stay seated one hour after take-off and one hour before landing.

That includes flights to Washington National, Washington Dulles, and even Baltimore.

Why The Alaska Airlines 1-Hour DC Seating Rule Is Stupid

The lesson we failed to learn from 9/11 was that a central point of terrorism is disruption, including sewing mistrust and heightening fear. Terrorism is often less about death and carnage than about fundamentally shifting narratives and disrupting institutions in a way that fosters discord.

Is there any reason to force someone who must use the lavatory to be seated when every passenger onboard has been screened by the TSA and the cockpit door is secured? Is an idiot who refuses to wear a mask and creates a spectacle onboard really going to remain seated?

There is no doubt Alaska has good intentions. Nevertheless, its latest mandate brings back all the poor memories of 9/11 and our total overreaction to prosecuting seditious criminals.

CONCLUSION

We face another crossroads here. New terrorism laws? Expanded no fly lists? More surveillance and curtailment of civil liberties? A walled-off district that looks like a war zone? Perhaps the best method is instead to use the laws on the books to prosecute those who do wrong. The FAA has a great new plan to punish those, under law, who do not behave on airplanes.

Inconveniencing and scaring everyone because of the actions of a few (very) bad apples is counterproductive to the sort of society we are seeking to create.

What are your thoughts on the Alaska Airlines DC seating rule?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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24 Comments

  1. ChuckMO Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 7:03 am

    It’s always one or two people who ruin it for everyone else. Like the attempted shoe bomber, Almost 20 years later and we STILL have to take our shoes off at airport security, Right wing white trash are the cause of this, so call THEM out on it, not AS.

    • Joe Reply
      January 15, 2021 at 7:55 am

      Good, hopefully this white racists Trumptards get the full screening and humiliation!

      • Joe Reply
        January 15, 2021 at 2:16 pm

        Joe…tone down the hate and self-righteous moral preening. It does not help…and it is a lie about “racists”.

        Projecting about racism perhaps?

      • PolishKnight Reply
        January 15, 2021 at 5:27 pm

        Growing up in the USA, I heard the terms: “White racist” “white privilege” with white usually associated with a slur. 5 years ago in a training session where the hotel had an open bar, a drunk American woman laughably yelled “Does anyone know any stupid p*ll*ck jokes! Hahaha!” I regret not asking the barkeep to make her apologize or get thrown out.

        It wasn’t foxnews or Rush Limbaugh (I don’t have the time to read or listen to news). It was folks like that who made me vote for Trump. Congratulations.

        For the record, I conduct myself and my family on planes in the highest manner possible.

  2. Airfarer Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 7:12 am

    Richard, the Islamist shoe bomber, voted Conservative?

    • Adam L Reply
      January 15, 2021 at 9:46 am

      Fortress DC is back with a vengeance. Anybody who lives in the District with the means and ability to get out of town next week is doing so. No reason to risk being under lockdowns again as domestic terrorists threats. It’s just surreal.

  3. jason Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 7:23 am

    There are meds if you can”t hold it…otherwise this will, um, pass. I promise that US will seem (and be) like a normal place to live in 6-8 months. Just avoid ticking off fellow passengers until then…

  4. Kelly Loeffler Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 8:07 am

    Just pee on the floor.

  5. Debit Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 8:07 am

    The only person responsible for all this is murdoch. Hold that bastard and his son responsible. They have been trying to undermine american democracy for 20 years. Always these old white farts with hots for young foreign women and their sociopathic sons are the bane of western democracy. People need to divest their money from fox holdings like they have been divesting from fossil fuels and gun makers.

    By the way it was not just sedition, it was treason as well. The “deep state” aka federal national security bureaucracy is investigating bitcoin payments to the organizers of the attack on capitol. These trump supporters are no better than the terrorists of 9/11 and need to be waterboarded as soon as possible to get all the information before any new attacks on jan/20.

    WATERBOARD WHITE REPUBLICAN MALES
    WATERBOARD WHITE REPUBLICAN MALES
    WATERBOARD WHITE REPUBLICAN MALES

    • Joe Reply
      January 15, 2021 at 2:21 pm

      Let me guess…another Democrat promoting “unity”, right?

    • Debit Reply
      January 16, 2021 at 3:46 am

      https://www.newsweek.com/proud-boys-intended-kill-mike-pence-nancy-pelosi-fbi-witness-says-1562062

      This just takes it to the next level. Just how servile and a bunch of ass kissers white Republican males are. The crowd wanted to kill pence and pence cant stop kissing trump’s ass. And 197 white Republican males voted against impeachment. Either they are involved or they are bloody losers.

  6. DCA Will Always Be “National” Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 8:12 am

    I think this is less about actually wanting people to stay seated and more about implementing an umbrella rule that can be used for any number of infractions that may lead to a larger disruption. It’s the airline’s version of the UCMJ “Conduct Unbecoming” charge so they don’t have to create a long list of reasons why an asshat may need to be met by police at their destination. It’s to supplement the “non-compliance with crew direction” since it’s logistically implausible to attempt keep people everyone seated (individually) for so long in the absence of some “formalized” requirement.

  7. Bob Jones Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 9:03 am

    This policy makes sense and it is irresponsible of you to suggest it’s absurd. There is good intelligence that domestic militia groups are planning attacks and this is a simple and effective way to limit their use of one possible weapon- planes. Clam down and just sit for an hour if you fly to DC. It’s simple and does NOT ‘infringe on your civil liberties’ – that’s taking this to an illogical absurd.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 15, 2021 at 10:20 am

      You must be joking. How are they supposed to take over a plane when the cockpit door is secure, marhsals may be onboard, and each passenger and their bag was screened prior to takeoff. They’ve already been neutered. When they get up and make a scene, they are just annoying and will be fined $35K and face up to 20 years in prison. That’s a powerful deterrent…

      • James Reply
        January 16, 2021 at 5:25 am

        If you ever watched MacGyver? There are many ways to make weapon out of everyday items….

        Sure, its just a tv series. For entertaintment. Until something happens…

  8. Stuart Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 9:18 am

    We lived with that for years here. It’s not a huge deal really. Everyone was pretty used to it.

    I do love the term “muttonheads” though. I’m stealing that.

  9. Willem Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 9:59 am

    Does Israel still do this? I remember on my United flights it was the half hour before landing in Tel Aviv

  10. derek Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    How about gate agents using box tape to tape masks to your face then forcing people to wear mittens where the mittens are taped to your wrist?

    • Joe Reply
      January 15, 2021 at 2:20 pm

      Pretty sure people can remove masks when eating and drinking. So how do masks help significantly…if at all? Most don’t wear masks correctly and most don’t even have the proper masks. It is mostly for “show” and provides a false sense of security.

      What I get a kick out of is those who wear masks outside with no one even close to them! They have a greater chance of getting struck by an asteroid than getting covid. Funny.

      • James Reply
        January 16, 2021 at 5:27 am

        Hello muttonheads. Hahahaha….

        Americans are funny.

  11. Batchcaloupe Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    Just another impossible position for the flight attendants. Let make up a stupid rule that’s impossible to enforce. What could possibly go wrong?? Stupid is as stupid does.,.

  12. Dark Star Reply
    January 15, 2021 at 10:26 pm

    It’s sowing not sewing

  13. Disappointed Reply
    January 17, 2021 at 4:38 am

    Unbelievable that you think it’s all well and good to prohibit the legal transportation of firearms. It’s a clear case of discrimination and harassment of citizens civil rights.

    It appears that airlines are having a “cancel” moment. The decision to temporarily prevent law abiding citizens to transport a Constitutional protected right is disappointing to say the least.

    Airlines are opening Pandora’s box all in the name of “SAFETY”. Time and time again history has shown us that banning firearms won’t protect us, but it actually emboldens the criminal. I wonder how long it will take the airlines to permanently ban transportation of firearms?

  14. PM1 Reply
    January 17, 2021 at 12:04 pm

    I just flew via DC (IAD) yesterday on United. Huge TSA presence at the gate for the flight to DC. They rechecked bags and IDs. I saw only one person with a MAGA shirt and hat in my gate area for the flight to DC but didn’t see him on the flight. He talked to the gate agent several times but didn’t board.

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