Southwest empties flight at Nashville airport after passenger refuses to wear a mask

Natalie Neysa Alund, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·2 min read

NASHVILLE – A Southwest Airlines flight at the Nashville International Airport that nearly took off on Tuesday returned to the gate and deplaned after a passenger on board refused to wear a face mask.

Nashville airport spokeswoman Kym Gerlock said a Metro Nashville Airport Authority Department of Public Safety officer was dispatched to Gate C21 at the request of Southwest officials because an argumentative female passenger refused to wear a face mask on board or exit the plane.

"Shortly after pushing back from the gate, Flight 2388 from Nashville to Las Vegas returned after a customer refused to follow our face covering policy," Dan Lanson, a Southwest spokesman, told The Tennessean.

Because the passenger refused to follow Southwest employees' instructions, it was necessary to deplane all passengers from the flight, Gerlock said.

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Passengers congregate at Nashville International Airport on Nov. 3, 2020, after a woman who refused to wear a face mask forced a Southwest aircraft to return to the gate and all its passengers to deplane.
Passengers congregate at Nashville International Airport on Nov. 3, 2020, after a woman who refused to wear a face mask forced a Southwest aircraft to return to the gate and all its passengers to deplane.

Once passengers deplaned, Gerlock said, officers escorted the woman from the aircraft to a Southwest gate for a ticket refund.

"Thanks to this woman, an entire plane of passengers had to deplane because she refused to wear a mask," Facebook user Kevin Ross wrote in a post with a photo he took of the ruckus on Tuesday. "Passengers thanked her for ruining their day (missed connections due to the delay) and (she) screamed back, 'I'm allowed! I'm allowed!' to which at least half of the passengers in unison yelled back 'No you are not!' "

Once the woman's refund was processed, Gerlock said, officers escorted her to the non-secure side of the airport.

"What a scene," Ross wrote in his Facebook post. "I must say I took some pleasure when an old grey haired man yelled, 'Bye, Felicia.' "

The woman was not arrested, Gerlock said.

The incident delayed the flight about an hour, Lanson said.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southwest passenger refuses face mask; flight deplanes in Nashville