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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A couple who allegedly refused to wear their masks properly were filmed screaming and swearing at JetBlue crew members as they were escorted on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego Wednesday.
A passenger who witnessed the incident on Flight 529 recorded the intense moment and shared the video on social media. She spoke to ABC 10News about what happened before, during and after the confrontation.
“I was boarding right behind the lady, the blonde lady, and she was like dancing, taking boomerangs with her two kids,” said Alice, who recorded the video and didn’t want to share her last name.
“On the way to the plane itself, the flight attendant actually asked him to tighten his son’s mask. It was like very cowardly and very big to him. So they didn’t either.
According to JetBlue, the couple were repeatedly asked to properly wear their masks before takeoff, but they reportedly failed to comply with the federal mask mandate.
“Her husband walked down the aisle to outside the plane. Then this whole mess started to happen. When he came back he just started yelling at the flight attendant.” Alice said.
Altercation on the flight to San Diego over the masks
In the video above, the man is seen being verbally and physically aggressive towards the crew members in the front of the plane. He tells passengers that there was a point where he had to wait four hours for the flight and only received one warning before being kicked off the plane.
“I’m sure you heard the whole plane gasping,” Alice said.
Later in the video, the man’s wife can also be seen swearing at crew members and talking to other passengers about what happened during the flight.
The woman tries to explain that her son took off his mask for a short time, and they tried to comply with the rules but it wasn’t good enough for the flight attendants.
Alice told ABC 10News that four people, the blonde woman, the man she assumes to be her husband, and two children were escorted off the plane.
“It amused me. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Alice. “But I’m very sad that they can just complain about the federal mandate.”
“Customers will no longer be permitted to use JetBlue in the future,” JetBlue said in a statement released Thursday.
“We apologize to our other customers on this flight for their experience with this incident. For reference, crew members are trained to talk to customers who violate policies. If a customer refuses to wear a face mask After being invited, the crew members will make him work to defuse the situation to the best of their ability to achieve compliance prior to removal. The safety of every guest and crew member is our first priority, and we must work together to follow the federal mandate of the mask while traveling, ”the airlines statement continued.
Alice told ABC 10News the flight went smoothly after the ordeal and everyone had settled in for take off. After seeing what happened on her flight, she has a simple message for the other passengers.
“I just want to ask people to wear their masks, even if they are vaccinated,” Alice said.
The incident comes as President Biden announced Thursday that fines would be doubled for those who violate federal rules for wearing masks at airports and certain modes of transportation, including many airlines.
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