‘Disruptive’ passenger kicked off plane after demanding flight attendant wear a mask

‘He asked the flight attendant why he had to wear a mask and she didn’t have to wear one,’ tweeted fellow passenger

Allegiant Air passengers have complained about staff not wearing masks properly (Wikimedia/Tomás Del Coro)

A man was removed from a recent flight when he became “disruptive” after seeing a member of cabin crew lower their mask.

The passenger was due to fly from Punta Gorda, Florida, with Allegiant Air on 7 September when he was kicked off the service before departure “for repeatedly disrupting the pre-flight safety briefing,” according to the airline.

A fellow traveller named Patrick tweeted about the incident, writing: “This elderly man was thrown off @allegiant airline this morning from Punta Gorda Florida this morning because he asked the flight attendant why he had to wear a mask and she didn’t have to wear one.”

He also shared a video which shows the man being escorted off the plane and asking to speak to the captain, while a female flight attendant tells him “no” and firmly ushers him out of the plane.

According to the airline, things got heated after the man saw a member of cabin crew not wearing their mask correctly.

An Allegiant Air spokesperson told Newsweek: “The flight attendant giving the safety briefing lowered their mask for speaking into the PA so the briefing could be understood.”  

They said this caused the passenger to become “disruptive.”

While Allegiant’s website states that “all crew members are required to wear a face covering at all times and gloves during inflight service”, it’s not the first time that passengers have complained of a relaxed attitude from staff.

On 4 September, Jessie Kunkel tweeted a picture of a flight attendant with her mask pulled down while speaking to a passenger, captioned: “@Allegiant how am I supposed to feel safe flying when my chatty Kathy flight attendant isn’t even wearing her mask properly and keeps taking it off?!? Safety first or last...?”

Another Twitter user wrote of their Allegiant Air flight in August: “Had to fly home this week and gave @Allegiant a try for their said safety priorities. Was that a joke - even the flight attendants didn’t wear a mask while giving the SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. They also did not enforce mask wearing on the plane which went against their policy.”

The Independent has contacted Allegiant for further comment on the accusations.