navigation search this article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . november 2010 mcdonnell douglas dc 9 83 md 83 a u.s. marshal on a con air flight . patch of jpats air operations division air crew . the justice prisoner and alien transportation system jpats nicknamed con air 1 is an agency of the federal government of the united states charged with the transportation of persons in legal custody between prisons detention centers courthouses and other locations . it is the largest prison transport network in the world . 2 though primarily used by the federal bureau of prisons or u.s. immigration and customs enforcement jpats also assists military and state law enforcement . the agency is managed by the united states marshals service out of the jpats headquarters in kansas city missouri . 2 jpats was formed in 1995 from the merger of the marshals service air fleet with that of the immigration and naturalization service . jpats completes over 350 000 prisoner alien movements per year . 3 air fleet operations are located in oklahoma city oklahoma with hubs in anchorage alaska ; mesa arizona ; alexandria louisiana ; and the virgin islands . additionally the federal transfer center at oklahoma city s will rogers world airport was built especially to facilitate prisoner transport on jpats . usually the airline employs boeing 737 aircraft to transport convicts and illegal residents of the united states for extradition . smaller jets and turboprops are also used to transport individual prisoners who are considered particularly dangerous . according to the boeing jetliner databook jpats operates three boeing 737s . jpats also operates an additional four mcdonnell douglas md 80 aircraft as well as two boeing 737 400s . 4 jpats aircraft use the icao designator doj with the callsign justice . immediately after the september 11 2001 attacks when the federal aviation administration grounded all civilian air service jpats was the only civilian passenger carrying air service allowed to continue flying in u.s. airspace . contents 1 history and evolution 2 today 3 pop culture references 4 references 5 external links history and evolution edit prior to the existence of jpats the transport of federal inmates over long distances was complicated . the process required an escort by two u.s. marshals accompanying the inmate on a regular passenger airplane . this posed numerous problems including danger to civilians a backlog of marshals needed to perform such escorts and a high taxpayer expense . in the early 1970s the u.s. marshals were offered a transfer from the federal aviation administration faa of a boeing 727 aircraft . though no purpose was originally designated for this plane one official had the idea of using it for the mass transportation of federal inmates . jpats predecessor was the national prisoner transportation system of the u.s. marshals service . 5 the airline ultimately improved the efficiency of inmate transportation and made the sight of a shackled commercial airline passenger largely a thing of the past . for a plane full of 200 inmates only 12 marshals are required . marshals are trained with aircraft emergency procedures very similar to those flight attendants learn to protect the aircraft s occupants . citation needed today edit prisoners deplaning today s jpats fleet has expanded to ten full sized aircraft . 2 these planes fly a large series of routes that serve nearly every major u.s. city . 3 the flight schedules are kept secret from the public and are known only to those directly involved in its operation . inmates scheduled to fly are given little or no advance notice of their flight to deter escapes and sabotage and to prevent harm from outsiders . citation needed passengers aboard a flight are restrained with handcuffs as well as ankle and waist chains which are double or even triple locked . those who pose additional danger may be given additional restraints such as reinforced mittens that completely isolate and almost completely immobilize the hands and face masks to prevent biting and spitting . however due to faa regulations inmates are not physically restrained to their seats in any way except for seat belts used during takeoff and landing . citation needed flight and seating arrangements are made carefully with the intent to separate inmates who may conflict with one another . members of rival prison gangs may be transported on different days to help reduce the risk of an in flight incident . citation needed unlike the practice of most jails male and female inmates fly together on the same planes . 6 pop culture references edit con air 1997 starring nicolas cage was based on the operations on this agency . the name of the film is a reference to the agency s nickname con air . the movie portrayed the interior of the plane a c 123 provider which jpats does not operate as a much steelier more prison like environment than a typical jpats 727 which in reality looks much like any other airliner . the storyline of the film covers this by saying that the prisoners on this flight are the worst of the worst including several serial killers and mass murderers . u.s. marshals 1998 depicted the story of a jpats flight that crashed during flight and the manhunt for a prisoner who escapes following the crash . an episode of the cartoon freakazoid takes place on a plane spoofing this airline called prison air . the unusuals television show episode the dentist 2009 det. eddie alvarez asks suspended and suspected felon u.s. marshal ben foster if he will be transporting a prisoner via jpats . marshal foster appears confused until det. alvarez explains that it is the justice prisoner and alien transportation system . marshal foster then confirms the prisoner will be transported via jpats however he is really breaking the prisoner out of custody after robbing the police precinct of valuable evidence against a dentist . 7 orange is the new black television show episode thirsty bird 2014 prisoner piper chapman is transported on a jpats plane for a transfer from litchfield prison in new york to a chicago detention facility . us marshals are shown doing prisoner pat downs before boarding and then staffing the flight . prisoners are shown boarding the flight from various locations including both male and female . references edit con air america s high flying paddy wagon . usmarshals.gov . 2004 06 03 . retrieved 2012 03 07 . a b c graves lucas june 2010 relocating prisoners wired 18 6 148 149 a b http www.usmarshals.gov jpats http www.planespotters.net airline justice prisoner and alien transportation system u.s. marshals service history national prisoner transportation system . usmarshals.gov . 1985 08 20 . retrieved 2012 03 07 . kerman piper 2010 . orange is the new black my time in a women s prison 2013 ed . . london abacus . p. 193 . isbn 978 0 3491 3987 6 . http www.imdb.com title tt1422565 u.s. immigration and customs enforcement air transportation increasing the local use of the us marshals service justice prisoner and alien transportation system jpats ingo remo johnson author publisher western baptist college january 1 1994 asin b0006ri4hs http www.amazon.co.uk increasing marshalls service prisoner transportation dp b0006ri4hs external links edit government of the united states portal law enforcement portal aviation portal prisons portal official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title justice prisoner and alien transportation system & oldid 737121307 categories airlines of the united statespolice aviationunited states department of justice agenciesgovernment agencies established in 1995hidden categories articles with obsolete information from november 2010all wikipedia articles in need of updatingall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from march 2015articles with 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