Mother kicked off flight after her two-year-old son refuses to wear mask
Distraught passenger says she was ‘bawling my eyes out and hyperventilating’
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A mother was left “bawling her eyes out and hyperventilating” after she and her two-year-old son were kicked off an American Airlines flight because he refused to wear a mask.
Rachel Starr Davis was travelling from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Manchester, New Hampshire, on 17 September when a flight attendant told her that all passengers over the age of two were required to wear a face covering.
“I tried repeatedly, begged him, bribed him, pleaded with him, did everything I could while he was screaming,” Davis, 34, wrote on Instagram.
The single mother said she was “lost for words” and that the experience had left her “feeling my absolute lowest of lows as a mother.”
Davis claims that she was approached before she had managed to take her seat, with a member of cabin crew asking how old her son Lyon was, and demanding he wears a mask as per the airline’s policy.
According to Davis, she overheard the flight attendant on the phone saying it was clear there would be “a problem” and that she needed a colleague to join her.
“I’ll save you the rest of the horror that happened on the plane, as I continued trying to get him to wear the mask, bawling my eyes out and hyperventilating behind my own suffocating mask,” said Davis.
“Desperate to get home after the worst week. He would have been asleep before we even pushed back if they had just been humans.”
Rather than remove the pair from the flight individually, cabin crew instructeed all passengers to deplane.
Everyone was permitted to reboard barring Davis and Lyon under the captain’s instructions.
Mother and son were moved to a flight later the same day at no extra charge.
Davis is now demanding an apology from the airline, reports the Plymouth Herald.
She concluded her impassioned Instagram post: “This is the world we live in? This is not a mask debate. This is a ‘be a god damned human’ debate.
“I will NEVER fly AA again.”
Davis confirmed American Airlines has since been in touch to try to resolve the issue.
“Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey,” an American Airlines spokesperson told the Plymouth Herald. “We’ve reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.”
The Independent has requested further comment from the carrier.
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