A mother and her son were reportedly removed from a plane after the child refused to wear a face mask and therefore violated the American Airlines policy.
The incident happened to Rachel Davis, a mother of a 2-year-old boy, who was about to fly from North Carolina to New Hampshire when a flight attendant told her to put a face mask on her son.
As the mother insisted, she had never before been asked to put a face mask on her young son despite allegedly being on three other flights that week.
Defending their policies, the flight attendant told Davis that she and her son would have to leave the plane if the 2-year-old didn’t comply.
According to the stressed mother, she attempted to convince her overtired son to wear a mask but he wouldn’t listen to her.
“I tried repeatedly, begged him, bribed him, pleaded with him, did everything I could while he was screaming and crying as I tried to hold him and put the mask on, feeling my absolute lowest of lows as a mother,” David explained in her post on Instagram.
“I told the flight attendant this is our fourth American Airlines flight this week, and he has never been asked to wear a mask. She informed me he (my overtired two year old son) would need to comply with their company policy or we would be asked to leave the aircraft,” the mother added.
“I continued trying to get him to wear the mask, bawling my eyes out and hyperventilating behind my own suffocating mask.”
Eventually, as the 2-year-old continued to refuse to wear a face mask, the staff ordered everyone on the plane to get off before letting other passengers back on.
“Rather than get themselves any bad press by escorting a crying mom and two year old off the plane, they forced everyone to deplane, and wouldn’t let us back on the flight home,” Davis added.
As the mom insisted, the staff couldn’t come up with an alternative solution and she was forced to book another flight.
After the mother’s post went viral, thousands of people have expressed their support for Davis and her son as they suggested that young children sometimes just won’t obey. Others, however, have defended the airline for sticking to the rules that were put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Following the incident, American Airlines has explained their mask policy in a statement and suggested that they have “reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.”
“To ensure the safety of our customers and team, American Airlines requires all persons 2 years and older to wear an appropriate face covering throughout the entirety of their journey,” American Airlines stated.
“Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey.”
Replaced!