FAA: Rights of air carriers to exclude or refuse to accept passengers. Section 44902(b) of the FAA, known as “permissive refusal,” provides pilots with broad authority to remove passengers.

A pilot (the Pilot in Command) has the legal authority to offload or deny boarding to any passenger who poses a safety, security, or health risk to the flight. This "Captain’s Authority" is absolute during the operation of the aircraft; if a passenger is disruptive, intoxicated, or unruly, the pilot can have them removed before takeoff or even divert the plane to have them arrested. However, a pilot cannot unilaterally permanently ban a passenger from the entire airline. Permanent bans are a corporate decision made by the airline's security and legal departments after a review of the incident. These individuals are placed on a private "No-Fly List" internal to that specific carrier. While a pilot can certainly initiate the process by filing a formal report of the misconduct, the long-term blacklisting of a traveler is an administrative action. In 2026, with the rise of unruly passenger incidents, airlines have become much more aggressive in issuing these permanent bans to protect their crews and maintain a safe environment for other travelers.