What is up with all these news stories about passengers getting kicked off airlines for various infractions, including speaking Arabic on a cellphone, texting words that look suspiciously terroristic, switching seats while wearing a head scarf, arguing with flight crew about snacks?
I’ll be the first to admit that just because these incidents are in the news doesn’t mean that I or any reader knows the whole story. There could be other mitigating factors involved, about which we know nothing. But on the surface, these incidents highlight a few real problems.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
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