A New York City mother flying with her six children was booted off of a JetBlue flight Wednesday after her 2-year-old daughter did not use a mask as the airline requires.
What We Know:
- Chaya Bruck, a Brooklyn citizen, documented the incident that happened on a flight from Orlando to Newark in a video posted to Facebook. By early Thursday afternoon, it had more than 2,400 views.
- Chaya Bruck stated she felt targeted and bullied by a flight attendant who requested her toddler use a mask during their flight to New York.
- Bruck expressed on Facebook that JetBlue should be ashamed for harassing her and kicking her off with her six children because her 2-year-old would not cooperate and wear a mask.
- She claims that the airline’s in-flight crew members were nothing but bullies who handled her and her family inhumanely. Bruck claims that the company’s written policy on its website says that “young children who are not able to use the masks are exempted”.
- JetBlue’s website states all travelers who are at least two years old must wear a face covering their nose and mouth during their journey — which includes the check-in process, boarding, while in flight and deplaning to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Other major airlines also have mask policies.
- Jet Blue’s policy states that masks with vents or exhalation valves are not permitted, and that plastic face shields can be worn additionally to a face-covering but not in place of one.
- JetBlue suggests on its website that customers with conditions preventing them from wearing a face-covering should delay travel “until this temporary requirement is no longer in place”. The airline also expects that all crew members wear masks while boarding, in-flight, and when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
- Bruck’s family, along with the other passengers, were forced to exit the plane due to the mask dispute.
Bruck’s family returned to New York on Wednesday, preferring to fly instead with United Airlines, which did not mandate the mask policy for Bruck’s 2-year-old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests all people two years and older wear a mask in public.
