Threat Level Communication

We have all been noticing an uptick in unruly passengers. Because of this surge in poor behavior, we want to review the threat levels and provide some tips for reporting/de-briefs. The FAA has identified four threat levels that can help crewmembers identify their responsibilities and formulate an appropriate response:

Level 1: Disruptive behavior- suspicious or threatening (May include but not limited to abusive
language, verbal harassment, and intoxication)

Level 2: Physically abusive behavior (includes all disruptive, deliberate and physically abusive
behavior to crew or other passengers)

Level 3: Life-threatening behavior (credible life-threatening behavior with weapon involved)

Level 4: Attempted or actual breach of cockpit (an attempt by anyone to gain access to the
cockpit)

Policies and procedures for threat levels may be found in the FAM, Security, Threat Levels
11.4.1.
We, as flight attendants, need to be diligent in recognizing a threat level when applicable. The
appropriate threat level needs to be identified and communicated to the PIC so that proper
protocol may be followed.
in an effort to ensure all reports are received by the FAA, AFA and Air Group, when flight
attendants are completing the required report, the indicated threat level should be clearly
stated in said report.
As a reminder, Flight Attendants are always encouraged and empowered to request a
debriefing with their crew as well as an EAP debrief and/or an operational debrief with Safety
following any incident.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your Safety Committee and/or your local officers.