Frontier Airlines denies family was removed from flight because of maskless 1-year-old
Video taken after the incident shows a number of fellow passengers appearing to take issue with Frontier's decision to remove the family
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Frontier Airlines canceled a flight from Miami to New York on Sunday after "a large group of passengers repeatedly refused to comply" with the FAA’s mask ordinances — but some passengers on the plane are alleging that the "large group" was just a single baby.
The incident reportedly concerned a Hasidic family with a 1-year-old child, witnesses have claimed. Videos shared to Twitter, allegedly taken after the family was asked to leave, show two masked adults gathering their belongings and walking toward the exit with the baby. At one point, one of the adults indicates that it was the maskless child, 1, whom Frontier took issue with.
Any events prior to the family leaving the plane — including any interaction with Frontier crew members over the federal mask mandate — was not captured in the videos.
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"I’m having it all on tape, this is gonna go all over the news," another passenger can he heard shouting at Frontier staff at the end of one of the clips, which were uploaded to Twitter by the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council. "You’re all going to suffer the consequences of this."
"This is Nazi Germany," another shouts.
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In one of the videos, several other passengers are seen comforting the family as they wait in the aisle of the plane. Three eyewitnesses from the canceled flight further alleged that they saw Frontier Airlines’ staff high-five each other after the family had finally departed the aircraft.
Frontier Airlines has since shared a public response to the videos, writing on Twitter that the incident concerned "adults" refusing the wear the masks. "The issue did not stem from a child under 2," the airline wrote.
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When reached for comment, Frontier Airlines again denied any issue with the maskless child, but rather a "large group" of travelers.
"Yesterday, while flight 2878 from Miami to New York-La Guardia was preparing to leave the gate, a large group of passengers repeatedly refused to comply with the U.S. government’s federal mask mandate," the airline elaborated. "Multiple people, including several adults, were asked repeatedly to wear their masks and refused to do so. Based on the continued refusal to comply with the federal mask mandate, refusal to disembark the aircraft and aggression towards the flight crew, local law enforcement was engaged. The flight was ultimately canceled."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Frontier also reiterated the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandate that all passengers over 2 need to wear masks on commercial aircraft, other than those with a qualifying disability.
Frontier denies the family's removal had anything to do with the child, instead claiming "a large group of passengers repeatedly refused to comply with the U.S. government’s federal mask mandate." (iStock)
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In January, President Biden signed an executive order mandating masks on passenger planes, as well as public trains and buses. Prior to the order, it was up to each airline to enforce its own mask policy. In the interim, the FAA had announced a "zero tolerance" policy for unruly passengers following the Capitol rioting on Jan. 6, noting a "disturbing" uptick in such incidents.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We will no longer adjudicate certain of these unruly passenger cases with counseling or warnings. We’re going to go straight to enforcement," said FAA Chief Steve Dickson.