A Spirit Airlines crew reportedly kicked off a Jewish family off the plane bound for Atlantic City, New Jersey on Monday.
Faithwire reported that the incident became viral in social media through a video taken during the flight that showed the flight attendant rebuking the couple for not following the mask mandate for their two year old daughter.
The video tweeted by Breaking911 showed the masked husband explaining to the flight attendant while the wife, also wearing a mask, was seated in front of him with their daughter eating yogurt.
"WATCH THIS: A family was just kicked off a @SpiritAirlines flight from Orlando to NY, because their two-year-old child who was eating, wasn't wearing a mask. The mother is 7 months pregnant, and they have a special needs child. The entire flight was deplaned," Breaking911 tweeted.
The video also showed that other passengers assisted the family and explained to that flight attendant as well that the child was wearing a mask prior to eating her yogurt. The flight attendant eventually left the scene.
WATCH THIS: A family was just kicked off a @SpiritAirlines flight from Orlando to NY, because their two-year-old child who was eating, wasn't wearing a mask. The mother is 7 months pregnant, and they have a special needs child. The entire flight was deplaned. pic.twitter.com/dcjLIEbDfA
"” Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 5, 2021
The Daily Mail explained that the video was taken while the plane was still in Florida and that several versions of the video could be seen online, which meant several passengers uploaded the incident. The female flight attendant was telling the couple that they had to exit the plane for not following the mask mandate. Accordingly, the female attendant spoke in behalf of a male steward who wants the family off the plane.
As per the Daily Mail, the wife was seven months pregnant and the couple refused to leave the plane that's why the female attendant left to call the police onboard. All the passengers were eventually asked to disembark the plane and wait at the gate while police officers arrived escorted by the male steward.
Faithwire added that another footage showed that the family was asked to board the plane with the rest of the passengers after the airline replaced the crew on the flight. The passengers applauded the said decision while waiting at the gate.
This meant, as per Daily Mail, that the flight attendant was kicked off the Spirit Airlines flight. A video showed that the police escorted the male flight attendant off the plane. The media outlet highlighted that the incident was the second of its kind as previously a six year old boy caused a flight to be deplaned for mask mandate compliance.
According to Faithwire, the mask policy of Spirit Airlines requires all travelers to wear masks at all times except when "eating, drinking, or taking medication." The policy gives an exemption to children "under the age of two years old" and for other special cases such as those that "may be other limited exceptions for a guest with a disability recognized under the Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA) who meet certain criteria."
Spirit Airlines on Monday posted a statement on the incident in their Twitter account regarding their masking policy.
"Please visit http://bit.ly/SpiritInfoCenter for more information about our face covering policy," Spirit Airlines tweeted.
In the statement, the airline clarified circulating "misinformation" about the incident" and their action on the matter.
"We're aware of incorrect information circulating about Spirit Airlines Flight 138 from Orlando to Atlantic City. The flight was delayed due to compliance issues with the federal mask requirement. We allowed our Guests to continue on the flight to their destination after assurances of compliance. The safety of our Guests and Team Members is our top priority," the airline said.
