Narrative:

While I was taking drink orders the gentleman in 18A asked if he could retrieve his bag from the overhead bin. I told the passenger 'the fasten belt sign is on; I can't give you permission but I'm not going to tackle you.' when I approached row 23A to take drink orders the gentleman told me to tell that guy to sit down. I explained to him that I told him the fasten seat belt sign was on. He said again; you need to tell him to sit down and that it was a safety issue. I again said; 'sir; I advised him the fasten seat belt sign was on. I didn't give him permission but I can't stop him from getting up. Would you like anything to drink.' approximately 15 minutes later I noticed the a flight attendant (flight attendant) leaning over talking to the gentleman in 23A. The a comes to the back galley and told me the guy in 23A said he was FAA and I needed to make that guy sit down. I then went to 23A and asked the gentlemen if he was with FAA. He responded 'what does it matter.' I asked him to see his FAA credentials and he said 'no' and he would show them to the proper authorities when asked but he doesn't need to show me and he would talk to the captain after the flight.after the flight; he indeed stopped in the front galley and talked to the captain. He did show his FAA badge and requested my name and employee number. If an FAA agent is on board and is going to interfere with a working crew member they need to either introduce themselves immediately and/or show identification when requested.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Flight Attendant reported being hindered by FAA employee for not enforcing a passenger to adhere to seatbelt sign inflight.

Narrative: While I was taking drink orders the gentleman in 18A asked if he could retrieve his bag from the overhead bin. I told the passenger 'The fasten belt sign is on; I can't give you permission but I'm not going to tackle you.' When I approached row 23A to take drink orders the gentleman told me to tell that guy to sit down. I explained to him that I told him the fasten seat belt sign was on. He said again; you need to tell him to sit down and that it was a safety issue. I again said; 'Sir; I advised him the fasten seat belt sign was on. I didn't give him permission but I can't stop him from getting up. Would you like anything to drink.' Approximately 15 minutes later I noticed the A FA (Flight Attendant) leaning over talking to the gentleman in 23A. The A comes to the back galley and told me the guy in 23A said he was FAA and I needed to make that guy sit down. I then went to 23A and asked the gentlemen if he was with FAA. He responded 'What does it matter.' I asked him to see his FAA credentials and he said 'NO' and he would show them to the proper authorities when asked but he doesn't need to show me and he would talk to the Captain after the flight.After the flight; he indeed stopped in the front galley and talked to the Captain. He did show his FAA badge and requested my name and employee number. If an FAA agent is on board and is going to interfere with a working crew member they need to either introduce themselves immediately and/or show ID when requested.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.