American Removes Mom and 2-Year-Old Son From Flight After the Toddler Refused to Wear a Mask

Brittany M. Hughes | September 22, 2020
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A mother and her two-year-old child were removed from an American Airlines flight over the weekend after the toddler refused to wear a face mask.

The mother, Rachel Davis, said she tried her best to get her young son to put on his face mask – but, given that he’s only two years old and doesn’t understand why he has to keep an irritating, stifling piece of fabric over his face, he understandably refused.

“I tried repeatedly, begged him, bribed him, pleaded with him, did everything I could while he was screaming and crying as I tried to hold him and put the mask on, feeling my absolute lowest of lows as a mother,” Davis said on Instagram.

She then said that the flight crew made everyone get off the plane so they could avoid looking bad by having to kick her and her young son off by themselves.

“Rather than get themselves any bad press by escorting a crying mom and two year old off the plane, they forced everyone to deplane, and wouldn’t let us back on the flight home. Apparently before we got off the plane everyone who left before us lit up the crew in the gate area,” she explained.

“It was very cold and cruel,” Taylor Cournoyer, a fellow passenger on the flight, told ABC. “This wasn’t an issue of a grown adult not complying out of spite because they don’t agree with masks — this was a child. And it was not a bad, irresponsible mom either — she was crying and trying to keep the mask on and asking the flight attendants for help and advice on what to do.”

The guidelines follow the CDC"s equally asinine suggestion that all persons age 2 or older wear face coverings; however, the rule contradicts most state and local mask ordinances, which make exceptions for young children and infants given their age and obvious inability to grasp the concept.

But American is defending their policy, saying it’s for the “safety” of everyone onboard the flight that toddlers be required to cover their faces for hours-long flights.

“To ensure the safety of our customers and team, American Airlines requires all persons 2 years and older to wear an appropriate face covering throughout the entirety of their travel journey,” American Airlines said in a statement. “Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey. We’ve reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.”

 

 

 

 

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