Disruptive passenger forces flight back to Miami on way to London
Source: WPLG
Traveler reportedly wouldn’t comply with federal mask mandate, 129 passengers forced to rebook flight
MIAMI, Fla. – An American Airlines flight on its way to London from Miami returned to Miami International Airport after a passenger who wouldn’t comply with wearing a mask became disruptive on Wednesday night. The flight had to be canceled and 129 passengers rebooked, according to ABC News.
AAL38 was in the air for 1 hour and 48 minutes according to data from www.flightaware.com and was over the Atlantic Ocean en route in its 8 hours and 35 minutes, 4,400-mile journey when it turned around.
The scheduled departure was at 7:40 p.m., and arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport was scheduled for 9:15 a.m. The flight left on time, according to the American Airlines website.
American Airlines released a statement about the incident.
“American Airlines flight 38 with service from Miami (MIA) to London (LHR) returned to MIA due to a disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement. The flight landed safely at MIA where local law enforcement met the aircraft. We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The airlines referred inquiries about the passenger and more details about the incident to the Miami Police Department.
The federal mask mandate requires travelers to wear masks inside airports and on airplanes to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Last August, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extended the face mask requirement through March 18, 2022.
As of Jan. 18, 2022, airlines have reported 151 incidents of unruly passengers to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with 92 of them related to the federal face mask mandate. In 2020, the FAA investigated 183 reports regarding unruly passengers while in 2021 that number significantly increased to 1,075 with many related to passengers disputing wearing a mask on boar
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Republished by the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A.