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United Airlines Reportedly Reminds Flight Crews Not to Duct-Tape Passengers Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines flight attendants duct-taped a passenger to his seat, producing a viral video and full news cycle in the process

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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United Airlines sent out a reminder to its employees that duct-taping unruly passengers should be avoided, according to Fox Business.

The outlet obtained an employee memo from United Airlines' senior vice president for inflight services, John Slater.

"Please remember that there are designated items onboard that may be used in difficult situations, and alternative measures such as tape should never be used," he wrote. Citing the Federal Aviation Administration, Fox Business pointed out that in 2021, there have been a total of 3,889 unruly passenger incidents on flights. A few of the incidents have gained notoriety, either for the passenger's behavior or the flight crew's response.

Related: Flight Attendants Who Duct-Taped Passenger to Seat in Shocking Video Receive Praise

Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines flight attendants duct-taped a passenger to his seat, producing a viral video and full news cycle in the process. American Airlines has also made a few headlines for similar situations, though United has not.

Though United hasn't been involved in the trend of duct-tape restraint lately, the company did lead the way on another trend earlier this month: United became the first American airline to require all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. They'll need to show proof of vaccination by Oct. 27 or risk termination of employment.

Notably, Covid-19 is also at the heart of the recent uptick in unruly behavior.

Fox Business pointed out that of those 3,889 unruly passenger incidents this year, 2,867 were related to the wearing of protective masks.

Related: United Airlines Becomes First to Require Employees to Be Vaccinated or Risk Termination

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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