Days after Chicago aviation police dragged a passenger off a sold-out United Airlines flight at O'Hare International Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has directed its officers to take a hand-off approach.
On Thursday, Michael Fedorko, the superintendent of police for the Port Authority— which controls the regions three major airports — issued a new policy directive for its officers at airports.
The policy says officers will not assist in the physical removal of passengers to accommodate the airline's request. Officers are to examine each instance on a case-by-case basis.
"In the event an airline overbooks a flight and the Airline determines that it is necessary to remove a passenger/s from the overbooked flight, PAPD will not assist in the physical removal of the passenger from the flight to accommodate the airline’s request," Fedorko wrote. "As with all operational response matters, however, please examine each instance on a case-by-case basis to determine the totality of the incident before reacting or responding."
The police department oversees Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports.
