Allegiant passenger removed after dispute over flight attendant's face mask
An Allegiant Air passenger was removed from his flight Monday over a mask dispute – but not the kind we've become accustomed to reading about during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The man was removed from Flight 1682 bound for Portsmouth, New Hampshire, before it left Punta Gorda Airport in southwest Florida Monday after reportedly interrupting the flight attendant's safety briefing to ask her to put her mask back on.
"A passenger became disruptive during the pre-flight safety briefing," Allegiant spokesperson Hilarie Grey told USA TODAY. "Following the announcement, the passenger persisted in making threatening statements to the flight attendant, to the point of harassment."
Fox News and industry news site PaddleYourOwnKanoo.com reported the flight attendant removed her mask to complete the safety briefing after other passengers complained they couldn't make out what she was saying and then put it back on immediately after finishing her announcement. The man reportedly asked her to put her mask back on during the briefing, and Grey characterized his behavior as "continued harassment directed at an Allegiant crew member."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice."
In video following the incident obtained by USA TODAY, an airline station agent tells the man he needs to leave the plane or law enforcement will be called. Some other passengers can be heard grumbling things like, "Oh c'mon" and "This is ridiculous."
The passenger asked to take his case up with the captain as he was led off the plane, saying, "I just asked somebody to put on their face mask. That's all I did."
Grey said that after the man continued his "disruptive behavior, "the decision was made to deplane the passenger," noting that interfering with a crew member is an FAA violation. "He was re-accommodated to a later flight."
American Airlines pilot asks DOT to mandate masks: Airline passengers are finding 'creative ways' to remove face coverings
Allegiant's mask policy requires that all passengers wear face coverings except children under 2 years of age or those who can present documentation of a medical problem at least one hour prior to departure.
"Face coverings may be briefly removed to eat or drink, but otherwise must be worn at all times including at the ticket counter and gate, during boarding and while onboard the aircraft," the airline's rule says.
Grey said Allegiant's policy also applies to crew members on duty. However, they are allowed to remove them to eat or drink, though it's preferred they do so in a galley or break area that is generally free of passengers.
"We have also had a few instances of customers who are hard of hearing or need to read lips requesting that a crew member briefly remove a mask for clarification," she added. "Any incidents of non-compliance are reviewed and addressed on a case-by-case basis."
Grey did not specify how long the flight attendant's mask was off.
Allegiant did not require passengers to start wearing masks until July 2, two months after most other U.S. airlines put mask requirements in place.
Some Allegiant passengers were dismayed by the airline being late to the party.
In June, Indianapolis attorney Vernon Petri voiced concerns and then walked off his Allegiant flight to Florida after he saw unmasked passengers and crew and and no seats were blocked for social-distancing purposes as some other airlines are doing.
“Well, I picked up my baggage and I walked off the plane and went home," Petri told The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network. "I missed the whole vacation time.”
'I walked off the plane': Travelers irked by inconsistent face mask use amid coronavirus pandemic
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Allegiant passenger removed after asking crew to put face mask back on
