An American Airlines flight scheduled to fly from North Carolina to the Bahamas was delayed by a day after 30 teenagers refused to wear masks. Flight 893 was originally scheduled to fly from Charlotte Douglas Monday at around 9:30 am. It was then delayed due to a mechanical issue and had to switch to another plane.
30 Teenagers Refusing To Wear a Mask
When 30 high schoolers became disruptive and disregarded crew members’ instructions, the flight was delayed overnight and only departed Charlotte at around 9 am on Tuesday. The disruptive passengers were asked to deplane.
American Airlines released a statement that “Prior to departure on July 5, passengers traveling on American Airlines Flight 893 from Charlotte (CLT) to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) were reported to be noncompliant with the federal mask mandate, became disruptive to other customers and refused to follow crew members instructions while onboard”.
Customers are usually given hotel vouchers in case the flight is delayed overnight. Unfortunately, the 30 teenagers were too young to take advantage of these vouchers. The 30 teenagers stayed in the airport overnight.
In a statement by American Airlines, “Per procedure, the customers involved were asked to exit the aircraft. We expect our customers to comply with our policies when they choose to fly with us, and we take action when that is not the case”.
The passengers eventually boarded the plane and agreed to wear masks. Other passengers were frustrated and disappointed with the 30 teenagers that caused the delay. A passenger said that “All they had to do was follow the rules, put the mask on, sit there. No smart-mouth comments”.
Zero-Tolerance Policy
There is an existing zero-tolerance policy against unruly passengers. Some were even penalized thousands of dollars for their actions onboard. Since the pandemic started, airlines reported a spike in the number of passengers who refused to follow the rules. Some passengers were fined thousands of dollars for disrupting flights. Most cases of unruly passengers reported refused to wear their masks. Some even escalated to a physical altercation and injured flight attendants.
