Southwest Airlines flight attendant

Vyvianna Quinonez punched a Southwest flight attendant in the face during a May 2021 flight, breaking her teeth. She now faces 15 months in prison.

Neither she nor her attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday. Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair. SAN DIEGO — A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

A woman from Sacramento has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $30000 for punching a Southwest Airlines flight attendant a year ago.

She had pleaded guilty to interfering with flight crew members and attendants in December. The $30,000 she has been ordered to pay covers fines and restitution. A woman from Sacramento has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $30,000 for punching a Southwest Airlines flight attendant a year ago. Vyvianna Quinonez, 29, admitted to punching the flight attendant in the face and mouth who had told her to wear a mask, buckle her seatbelt and fold up her meal tray on a flight from Sacramento to San Diego last May.

Vyvianna M. Quinonez assaulted a flight attendant by punching her in the face last year, was sentenced to 15 months in federal custody on Friday.

Southwest Airlines told Insider in a statement on Saturday that it maintains "zero tolerance" for any type of assault or harassment of its employees. She then began filming the flight attendant on her cellphone shortly before pushing her. The attack stopped when a passenger stood up and got between the two women.

A woman who admitted punching a Southwest Airlines crewmember so severely that the bloodied flight attendant required serious repairs to three of her teeth.

I wanted to sincerely apologize to the flight attendant and for those who I impacted in a negative manner. That is completely unacceptable and, with that, I hope that a sentence in this case sends a message that this type of despicable attack against a Flight Attendant will not be tolerated. Due to the assault, the flight attendant was not able to perform her normal safety and customer service duties.” However, Defendant told pretrial services that her doctor informed her that “if she drinks alcohol, her blood alcohol concentration may rise abnormally due to the small size of her stomach.” Given this warning by her doctor, Defendant should have been especially careful about the possibility of driving while intoxicated. This specific Passenger created a situation onboard Flight 700 that jeopardized the entire flight, and created an unsafe environment. A male passenger who witnessed the melee said Quinonez claimed she fought back in “self-defense” because the flight attendant had allegedly tried to push aside her cell phone. [N]ever in my career have I feared for my life or the people’s lives that were in my care. The feds initially asked for a four-month prison term and an additional six months on home confinement, according to the government’s sentencing memo. “The flight attendant was taken to the hospital and sustained several injuries,” the DOJ said in a subsequent press release. The bloodied flight attendant stood behind the passenger and held her face before retreating off camera toward the rear of the aircraft. Court documents state that Quinonez failed to comply when a flight attendant instructed her to fasten her seatbelt. Quinonez started recording the incident and then lashed out.

The flight attendant suffered three chipped teeth along with bruises and a cut under her eye that needed stitches.

Video shows a passenger jumping in to stop Quinonez. "Sit down!" Neither she nor her attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday. Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair.