An American Airlines flight from North Carolina to the Bahamas was delayed because of “a slate of disruptions, including teenage passengers” refusing to wear face masks on the flight, USA Today reports.
American Airlines confirmed to USA Today that the flight — which was scheduled to fly from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Nassau, Bahamas — was delayed because “due to non-compliance with federal face mask requirements, disruptive behavior and failure to adhere to crew member instructions, the Captain made the decision to deny members of the group boarding on the replacement 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,” American Airlines said in the statement.
What happened to the teens?
The group of teens — which included 30 high school students from Boston, who were jumping on their connecting flight — were asked to leave the plane, according to WSOC-TV.
- “All they had to do was follow the rules, put the mask on, sit there. No smart-mouth comments. And they couldn’t do it,” passenger Christina Randolph told WSOC-TV. “Well, I’m a nurse, and it’s really, really hard to get time off work. So when you finally get time off, you really want to be somewhere you want to be.”
What happened to the passengers?
The passengers’ bags were removed from the plane, which delayed the flight even more. The flight was then moved to Tuesday. Per CBS News, the passengers still on the plane were given hotel vouchers.