American Airlines was forced to cancel a flight heading to the Bahamas after a group of teenagers from Boston refused to wear masks onboard. The 30 young travelers leaving from Charlotte early Monday morning kept the plane from taking off after not choosing to put on face masks.
The misconduct disturbed other passengers waiting to take off, and American Airlines flight 893 ended up having to be rescheduled to the following day.
Passengers on this same American Airlines flight had to initially change planes after the previous shuttle had mechanical issues. This is when the group of teenagers’ unruly behavior began. It started with profanity and led to a mask rebellion where the unruly group was kicked off the plane and had to stay in the airport overnight.
“It was bad. Firstly they were yelling, they were cussing. They were being very obnoxious,” Malik Banks, who was sitting next to the group, told Charlotte news outlet WSOC-TV. “It wasn’t all of them. I would say 75% to 80% of them were being terrible kids, saying smart stuff.”
Charlotte Douglas International Airport was the starting destination before flight 893 would have reached the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau. The teens were between 17 and 18 years-old, although the Bahamas trip was speculated to be a high school graduation trip for the large group of friends. To make matters worse, the group couldn’t book a hotel in Charlotte due to their young ages.
The federal mask mandate can’t be skipped out on when traveling across the country or internationally, and is in place until at least September 2021. These newcomer travelers are an example of how even though some U.S. cities may have lower to no COVID-19 restrictions because of minimal cases, there are still travelers who come from metropolitan communities where risks of infection are higher.
The FAA has announced that it would begin cracking down on unruly mask passengers, and many travelers end up on airline ‘no-fly’ lists for failure to comply.
The new Delta variant will make traveling scarier for American and international travelers, and not-at-risk citizens should abide by COVID-19 health regulations for airports and air travel. Being mindful of compliant passengers by following guidelines will prevent from any travel hiccups from happening in the future.
You can watch video of the post aftermath here.
