An airline employee walks past empty American Airlines check-in terminals at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 12, 2020.
- American Airlines and United Airlines flight crews will overnight at hotels away from central Washington, D.C.
- Airlines took similar steps during the presidential election in November.
- United also moved crews to airport hotels in Atlanta.
Airlines are moving flight crews to hotels outside of central Washington, D.C., to avoid the protests at the U.S. Capitol, airlines and a major labor union said.
American Airlines started booking crews overnighting in Washington to airport hotels on Tuesday and plans to do the same on Wednesday at a minimum, said Curtis Blessing, an American Airlines spokesman.
United Airlines flight attendants will also be staying at airport hotels this week, while those at Alaska Airlines were told to avoid downtown Washington D.C., said Taylor Garland, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents cabin crews at those airlines and more than a dozen others. The decisions were made before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.
United crews overnighting in Atlanta are also staying at airport hotels this week.
Airlines had moved crews out of central Washington, D.C., on Election Day in November because of concerns about demonstrations and potential logistical issues.
