A mother and her six kids were kicked off of a Jet Blue flight because her two-year-old daughter refused to wear a mask. The 39-year-old mother from New York, Chaya Bruck, was wearing a face mask as were all of her other children, except for the youngest. Bruck tried over and over again to get her daughter to wear the mask to no avail. Cellphone footage captured the moment where she was confronted by a flight attendant over the mask issue. Bruck and all six of her children were eventually escorted off the plane.
One key moment in the cell phone footage was when someone said “it’s on your website!” This is in reference to verbiage on the website that states the mask mandate for passengers two years of age and older is exempt when the child cannot maintain a face covering. And obviously this applies to a two-year-old child that cannot understand the importance or severity of wearing a mask. There is not much a mother can do to force a child to wear a mask beyond something that would catch the eye of the police and / or child protective services.
An executive from Jet Blue contacted Chaya Bruck to apologize. What is there to apologize for if the correct thing was done in relation to their policy? The child did not wear a mask and the family was kicked off of the plane as a result. The apology probably comes from an attempt to lower the chances of a lawsuit and also dampen any public relations fallout. The last thing struggling airlines want is a black eye to their reputation like what happened to United Airlines after the Asian man was beaten up on a flight over an issue with his seat.
SOURCES:
NYC mom recounts being kicked off JetBlue flight after toddler wouldn’t wear mask
Mother, 2-year-old kicked off American flight after toddler refuses to wear mask – ABC News
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