‘Get off the plane’: Passengers scold woman refusing to wear mask on flight
LOS ANGELES - Passengers waiting to depart on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Los Angeles were almost kicked off the plane when a fellow passenger refused to wear a mask on Sept. 9.
The video, originally uploaded to Twitter, shows several passengers screaming at a maskless passenger, saying, “Get off the plane.” One passenger asked, “So we’re all going to get off?" Another passenger yelled, “There are other people on this plane. Not just you.”
The passenger who recorded the video told Storyful that American Airlines was willing to kick over 200 passengers off the plane because one person didn’t want to wear their mask.
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“We stood up to them and told them that we aren’t leaving,” the person who filmed the footage said. “They eventually let the woman off the plane and we continued on with our trip.”
According to FlightStats, the flight’s departure from O’Hare International Airport was delayed for more than an hour and 30 minutes.
A spokesperson with American Airlines confirmed the incident, saying that the customer traveling on American Airlines flight 1024 “refused to comply with our face covering requirement while on board.”
“Prior to departure, the customer was asked to exit the aircraft if they would not comply with the face covering requirement, per company policy,” the American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. “The customer became disruptive and was met by law enforcement upon exiting the aircraft. The flight departed for LAX thereafter.”
American Airlines, along with other airlines, began requiring customers to wear face coverings while on board aircraft beginning in May.
“We have since strengthened our policy to require face coverings be worn at airports and on board, and announced in June that we may deny future travel for customers who refuse to wear a face covering for the duration of this requirement,” the American Airlines spokesperson said.
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The customer was placed on American’s internal refuse list pending a further investigation.
“We are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our customers and team members, which is why we enforce our policy for required face coverings. We expect customers who choose to fly with us to comply with these policies, and if necessary, we will deny future travel for customers who refuse to do so,” the spokesperson said.
Storyful contributed to this article.