Airlines prep for the inauguration with firearms ban, other safety measures

Flying to D.C.? Leave your firearms at home

If you’re flying to any airport near Washington, D.C. in the days leading up to the inauguration, you’ll have to leave your firearms at home.

Based on the events over the past few weeks in the nation’s capital, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, and United Airlines are imposing a temporary ban on checking firearms.

Additional security measures are being put in place as well.

In most cases, credentialed law enforcement personnel and active-duty military members traveling on orders are exempt from the policies.

A “D.C. Area Firearms Update” on the Delta Air Lines website says:

To ensure the safety of our customers and employees, customers flying into the Washington, D.C. area (DCA, BWI, IAD and RIC) from January 16 – 23 will not be permitted to transport firearms in their checked bags. As a reminder, firearms are never permitted in carry-ons,

Alaska Airlines issued a statement outlining its firearms ban, as well as a variety of other safety measures it will put in place beginning January 15.

The airline’s plan includes:

*Increased mask enforcement on the ground and in the air.

* A limit on the number of tickets to be sold to and from the Washington, D.C. area;

*And and a requirement that all passengers traveling to and from the DC metro area stay seated one hour after take-off and one hour before landing .

“We will have a dedicated command center to monitor every phase of the journey – check-in, boarding, taxi, climb, cruise, descent, and arrival – to ensure compliance and allow us to quickly respond to and resolve any incidents,” the airline said in its statement.

Other airlines are doing much the same. Some are banning the sales of alcohol on flights as well.

More restrictions for flying into D.C.

American Airlines has posted this notice:

The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority. As an additional precautionary measure in advance of the Presidential Inauguration, firearms may not be transported in checked bags on flights into Washington, D.C.-area airports (DCA, IAD and BWI) from January 16 – 23, 2021. Credentialed law enforcement officials and active duty military members traveling on Department of Defense orders will be exempt.

Firearms are never allowed to be brought onboard our planes as a carry-on item.

From Saturday, Jan 16 through Saturday, January 23, United will ban checked firearms on flights to BWI, DCA, Dulles, and Richmond International Airport.

And Southwest is doing the same.

Many airlines are moving their crews out of downtown D.C. hotels and increasing their staffing at the airports. TSA is also beefing up its security measures at airports around the country.

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