Cellphone video inside a Frontier Airlines plane on Feb. 28 shows commotion between passengers and the flight crew.
An Orthodox Jewish family headed from Miami to New York says they were kicked off the flight because their 15-month-old baby was not wearing a mask.
“The stewardess asked my daughter where is the baby’s mask, and she said obviously the baby is only 15, 16 months old and by law, there is no requirement to have a mask on a baby," said Martin Joseph, who was on the airplane.
Frontier says the toddler was not the only one without a mask. The airline released this statement:
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"On Feb. 28, 2021, while flight 2878 from Miami to New York-La Guardia was preparing to leave the gate, a number of passengers repeatedly refused to comply with the U.S. government’s federal mask mandate. 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. Frontier Airlines and U.S. government policy mandate that all passengers over the age of two, other than those with a recognized ADA disability that prevents them from wearing a mask, must wear a mask while onboard an aircraft."
Martin Joseph claims his family members were all wearing masks and says different passengers on the airplane also support these claims.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs council uploaded the video on Twitter moments after the incident occurred. The co-founder of the organization says the situation is frustrating.
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"Some people in the airline potentially behaved with bigoted motives," said Yossi Gestetner with OJPAC.
According to the airline, they contacted law enforcement and eventually canceled the flight. Martin Joseph and his family slept at a hotel and left for New York on a different airline on Monday.
"When you walk into the airport, you need to have a mask. When you walk onto a plane, you need to have a mask. Video of the families leaving shows that they have masks," Gestetner said.
