TSA decides to renew its self-defense classes for flight crews

In the wake of a continued barrage of unruly passenger behavior on airplanes, including physical altercations, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has decided to renew its self-defense classes for flight crews.

The story was first reported by the aviation blog The Points Guy.

In fact, TPG reporters were privy to such a class, joining 11 crewmembers at a Federal Air Marshal field office near Seattle, Washington. Two federal Air Marshal (FAM) instructors taught the class, and several life-like mannequins were used for self-defense training called BOBs – Body Opponent Bags.

There have been more than 4,000 incidents reported onboard so far this year, and three-quarters of them have been related to the face mask mandate – and many of those have been alcohol-related.

“We’re concerned every single day when we go to work and put that uniform on, are we the target and going to be punched in the face today?” Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants Union, said earlier this month.

TPG noted that some deescalating and self-defense tactics are part of regular and recurrent flight attendant training, but, increasingly, flight attendants are looking for more tools to protect themselves from aggressive, out-of-control passengers.

One tool is the self-defense course the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been offering since at least 2015. Put on hold during the pandemic, TSA restarted the program in June and has hosted more than 50 classes around the country so far.

The voluntary four-hour training is offered to flight crew members free of charge and is held at 24 locations around the United States. All active flight crew members for domestic carriers are eligible to register for the training.

“You’re not going to beat someone up for not wearing a mask,” said Brent, one of two federal air marshals teaching the class, “but in situations when your life is in danger, we are teaching you to be the aggressor. We have one rule: you win.”