Court rules that airlines can take any bomb-related remark as a security threat

At this point, it seems like most air travelers have figured out that airline employees, members of the flight crew and security agents don't think comments about bombs or explosives are entertaining, funny or even harmless. And now a New York court has ruled that no employee can be held liable if they misinterpret a frustrated passenger's bomb-related remark as a potential threat, as long as it is accurately reported to security officials.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made that determination as it threw out Rosalind Baez' $50 million lawsuit against JetBlue, ruling in favor of the airline and one of its gate agents. When Circuit Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote the last line of his ruling, he brought an emphatic end to a story that began at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2008. Baez, a now-former tech executive, was late to board her flight to Austin, Texas and was told by the gate agent that the door had already closed and she'd be unable to make the flight. Baez – whose luggage was on the flight that she'd just missed – asked whether that was a security risk, adding "What if there was a bomb in the bag?" The JetBlue employee responded that the TSA would've detected it, and Baez muttered "TSA, my ass."

As Baez was sitting at the gate, filling out an online complaint form about that employee, she was apprehended by airport security, detained for five hours by the FBI and repeatedly questioned about whether or not she had made a bomb threat against the flight, which was subsequently diverted to Richmond, Virginia, so that it could be searched. She was charged with making a bomb threat (a charge that was later dropped, although she did plead guilty to a misdemeanor after marijuana was found in her bag) and ordered to pay $13,448 to cover the cost of re-routing the flight to Virginia. Baez was also subsequently fired from her $190,000-per-year job.

In his ruling, Jacobs wrote 

At an airport, a bare reference to a bomb may be enough to set off the chain of events that resulted in Baez's detention, interrogation, and arrest by the FBI. A gate agent or airline manager may not confidently distinguish between a veiled threat and a comment expressing genuine concerns about security.

Baez's attorney, Jon L. Norinsberg, expressed his disappointment with the ruling and suggested that he may file an appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States.