Passenger Accused Of Assaulting Flight Attendant ID'd

SAN DIEGO, CA — Police Tuesday released the name of a woman who allegedly struck a flight attendant this weekend on a plane bound for San Diego, knocking out two of the attendant's teeth.

Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, was arrested Sunday morning at the culmination of a flight from Sacramento to San Diego International Airport.

Harbor police received reports just before 9 a.m. regarding a disturbance onboard Southwest Airlines Flight 700, in which a passenger struck a flight attendant, "causing serious injuries," according to Port of San Diego police.

Quinonez was arrested on suspicion of felony battery causing serious bodily injury and was booked into the Las Colinas Detention Facility, police said. County jail records did not show Quinonez in custody as of Tuesday afternoon.

The flight attendant, whose name and gender were not disclosed, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital for treatment, police said.

While specific details on what sparked the alleged attack are not clear, Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz said in a statement, "The passenger repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing. Law enforcement officials were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody. We do not condone or tolerate verbal or physical abuse of our flight crews, who are responsible for the safety of our passengers."

Lyn Montgomery, president of the Southwest flight attendants union, referenced the San Diego incident in an open letter dated Monday to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, which stated that "passenger non-compliance events" are becoming increasingly common and "more aggressive in nature."

Montgomery wrote that 477 passenger misconduct incidents have occurred between April 8 and May 15 alone.

"Today's traveling environment requires a new level of firmness in both tone and direction to ensure proper control in the cabin of our aircraft as the attitudes and behaviors of the flying public have, unfortunately, declined," Montgomery wrote.

The letter seeks assistance from Kelly in directing management to support flight attendants and make it clear to passengers that they could face civil penalties and/or criminal charges for not complying with regulations or federal mask mandates.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, it has received around 2,500 reports of "unruly behavior" from passengers since Jan. 1, with around 1,900 reports of passengers refusing to comply with the federal facemask mandate.

— City News Service