A passenger refused to wear a mask on a London-bound flight. The pilot turned the plane around.

[Zorro]

The flight returned to Miami about two hours after its departure

An American Airlines flight heading to London on Wednesday turned around about an hour after leaving Miami when a “disruptive customer” refused to wear a mask, the airline said.

No one was hurt, and the Boeing 777 landed safely at Miami International Airport at 9:24 p.m., American Airlines spokesman Curtis Blessing said in an email.

Officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department escorted the passenger, a woman believed to be in her 40s, off the plane without incident. Argemis Colome, a department spokesman, said the passenger was not arrested and police treated the incident as a disturbance call.

“She was pretty much dealt with administratively by the airline,” Colome said.

Blessing said the passenger has been placed on the airline’s list of customers who are not allowed to fly pending additional investigation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/01/20/american-airlines-mask-passenger-london-miami/

I am getting so sick of these inconsiderate assholes.

[SallyHemmings]

1. The passenger should never fly again

[Jim__]

2. She should have been arrested. But Florida ...

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Cops Couldn't

Just saw this on WGN News.
The mask mandate & the laws prohibiting interference of flight operations are federal. Unless the FBI or federal marshals request the cops detain, the cops couldn't arrest her. Jurisdiction issue.
But, the feds know who she is & where she lives.
They should go arrest her.

[StClone]

20. Good info thanks!

What incongruity, this person is free to be a pos everywhere in Florida. But, criminal actions in air.

[Deuxcents]

3. She needs to be held accountable

For the cost of this flight...all the passenger’s expenses for their inconvenience n the fine for such actions. Then on a no flight ever list. And any other charges..this has got to stop

[Sherman A1]

4. Agreed

Some real consequences need to be leveled at these assholes for this type of behavior to end.

[dutch777]

5. Other passengers should sue her for distress and damages. Where are the creative lawyers?

She'd pucker up real tight when she got served with that.

[Deuxcents]

9. Yep..I'm just saying..

There should be some real teeth in these consequences to stop this madness. 100 passengers, airline, crew.. need to be compensated.. a slap on the wrist is just ridiculous.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. As I Said Above...

...WGN News had a report on this.
They were 500 miles out, turned around, landed, removed her, reslotted and took off.
The flight arrived in England 3 & 1/2 hours later than it was supposed to.
I'm sure the rest of the passengers were just loving her after that.

[NoMoreRepugs]

26. Agree a bazillion %.

[mcar]

6. So, she paid for a flight to London

drove however long to the airport, parked, took a shuttle to the terminal (probably masked), went through security (definitely masked), took another shuttle to the gate and walked to her gate (probably masked), then took her mask off on the plane and refused to wear it.

This is performance art. I wonder who is funding it.

[wnylib]

10. Performance - I agree.

[NCjack]

19. Gov. Deathsantis?

[WinstonSmith4740]

23. Been feeling that way for a while.

It's just weird performance "art". Anyone who has flown in, oh the last year or so, you have got to agree to mask mandates before you even buy your ticket. And as you pointed out, she had to go through security, a gate attendant, and the flight attendants fully masked or she would have never been allowed on the plane. These people are nothing more than self-important attetion whores who like to stir things up. She should have to pay for any missed connection flights, and I do like the idea of everyone on that flight suing her ass off. When these people start getting hurt in the wallet, they'll decide it isn't worth it.

[area51]

36. +1 n/t

[IronLionZion]

34. These idiots think of themselves as Rosa Parks resisting segregation

[Hekate]

7. WHERE HAS THE POST-9/11 AIRPLANE BEHAVIOR HYSTERIA GONE?

That is all. This is beyond stupid.

[dem4decades]

8. She should have been arrested and made to pay for the 2 hours of jet fuel she wasted, plus costs.

[Silent3]

11. The dollar cost alone of turning the plane around is probably hundreds of thousands of dollars

Not to mention how fucked up the travel plans would be for the other passengers, incurring expenses and massive inconvenience for many of them.

Who knows what important family occasions were missed? Business meetings missed? How many vacations ruined?

Disruptions of flights like this should be treated as major felonies because of these consequences.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. Ignoring Costs Of The Delayed Turnaround In London...

...777-300s use about 2,200 gallons of fuel per hour. So, that's about 4,400 gallons at kerosene at airline cost of around $1.70/gallon for a cost of around $7,500.
That said, this tantrum required an extra takeoff & landing. That sucks up a lot of added fuel but I'm not sure how much extra.
The screw up of the schedule for that plane is probably a bigger deal with gate times having to be moved, a few days to get everything back on schedule.
It's not really the dollars she cost them. It's the massive inconvenience & added effort.
Not to mention the other angry passengers. Not sure how many of them blame the sour experience on the airline, even though they were victims of her nonsense, too.

[Silent3]

17. I wasn't just thinking about fuel costs...

But the costs of providing new flights and possibly hotels for all of those passengers, the costs of paying other passengers bonuses to give up their flights to provide seats for bumped passengers, etc. I'm sure all that adds up to a lot more money than just the fuel.

[ProfessorGAC]

38. I Mentioned That In My Post

And, since they still went to London, accommodations weren't extreme.
The biggest issue to me, is the hangover from the schedule disruption. It's admittedly tough to hand a dollar figure on that.
I still don't see anything close to 6 figures, though.

[Sneederbunk]

12. We need name and photo for shaming purposes.

[FakeNoose]

14. Take her to the beach, give her a canoe and a paddle

Wave bye-bye.

[TNNurse]

18. Can every passenger on that flight sue her???

[Golden Raisin]

21. These disruptive passengers should

be permanently banned from ALL airlines, not just the one in which they committed their disruption.

[George II]

22. That's a pretty expensive turn around. Two hours in the air and all the time lost by everyone?

[barbtries]

24. what if every other person on the plane

sued her ass for damages incurred when the plane didn't go where it was supposed to?! there should be consequences for this fuckery.

[Crunchy Frog]

25. Should have tossed her into the Atlantic.

[ret5hd]

27. As she's falling to the ocean:

“We would send a floatation device with you, but we know you don’t believe in life saving devices.”

[paleotn]

29. Like minds.

[paleotn]

28. Drop below angels10 and "request" she vacate the aircraft.

[UGADawg]

30. Can the other passengers sue her for a number of things? **

*

[Upthevibe]

31. I tend to agree some others' who've posted

about the possibility of this being staged/planned/performance art.

She had to wear her mask through all of the steps and takes it off an hour into the flight?

WTF are these people even effin' trying to do? I'm just unable to think "dark" enough to understand. It seems like creating chaos would work against them. I just don't get it!

I believe everyone on that plane should see about taking action against her. Also, if she can be charged with federal charges, she damn well should be!

I hope they release her name. These psychos really need to start paying some consequences!

[L. Coyote]

33. Is her name Karen Starka?

She was flying first class, but she has no class.

[thesquanderer]

35. "Don't make me turn this plane around!" n/t

[Trueblue1968]

37. Only 2 options. .... open the door and tell her to take a step or put on your mask.

I'm almost Series about this !! ! 111!!!

[NanananaFatman]

39. Every passenger and all the crew should sue

They all suffered material loss in time, money, and emotional distress.

As for that witch not being charged, that’s bullshit.