Three women are facing federal charges after assaulting Delta Air Lines security employees who denied them boarding for their flight at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
Earlier in the fall, Long Island residents Jordan Nixon, 21, Janessa Torres, 21, and Johanna Zavala, 44, were due to board an afternoon flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico since their morning flight reservation was changed. Having ordered nine alcoholic beverages between them at the airport bar in a span of four hours, the trio appeared to be intoxicated and, according to prosecutors, were therefore unfit to board the flight.
Upon arrival at the departure gate, the crew assessed that Nixon, Torres and Zavala would not be able to board the flight as a result of their intoxicated state. They were also denied because of their belligerent behavior, as one of the women refused to wear her mask correctly.
A Delta Air Lines security officer was called to explain why they could not board, and also to explain that they would instead be able to board a later flight. After the women refused to leave the jetway and cursed at the guard, he was then brutally attacked by the women.
Reports say that one of the women hit the security officer over the head with his two-way radio while another punched the gate agent in the face and another stepped on the security officer’s face as all three kicked and hit him while he was on the floor.
The gate employee and the security officer were taken to hospital and are yet to return to work.
Currently, attorneys for Torres and Zavala have not immediately responded to requests for comments on the incident that took place in September. Peter Guadagnino, Nixon’s attorney, confirmed that he and his client would assess the case’s evidence.
In response to the violence, Brooklyn US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement, “The extreme and aggressive behavior in connection with our air travel is out of control”.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines Inc. maintained that “Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and customers, and we have zero tolerance for physical violence on our airports and on our planes,” the airline also added that they would work with authorities to ensure that “this unacceptable conduct is held to account.”