ORLANDO, Fla. – A mother from Brooklyn was forced off a JetBlue flight in Orlando on Wednesday when her 2-year-old daughter wouldn’t wear a mask, according to the New York Daily News.
Chaya Bruck, a mother of six, posted video of the incident on her Facebook page.
[WATCH VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY]
According to the report, flight attendants ordered Bruck to get off the Newark-bound plane after her daughter, Dina, refused to keep on a face covering, which the airline says is required due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When Bruck explained that the child wasn’t cooperating, the attendants told all passengers to get off the plane.
“It was horrible. The whole experience was traumatizing,” Bruck told the Daily News from Orlando International Airport.
Once Bruck and her children were removed from the plane, they found themselves stranded.
“I was trying very hard. (The other children) were wearing their masks with their noses covered,” Bruck said. “It says (on JetBlue’s website) that a child who cannot wear a mask does not have to wear a mask. I tried to tell them this, but they didn’t care. They wanted me off the plane.”
The airline updated its Travel Alerts page Wednesday at 2 p.m., according to a timestamp on the company’s website.
The policy says, “All travelers 2 years and older must wear a face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their journey.”
According to the Daily News, A spokesman for JetBlue said the policy on face coverings was actually updated to include 2 year olds on August 10.
“During these unprecedented times, our first priority is to keep crew members and customers safe, and we’ve quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic,” JetBlue spokesman Derek Dombrowski told reporters. “Children age 2 and over must wear a face covering, consistent with CDC guidelines, which say, “Masks should not be worn by children under the age of 2.”
“They came over to me and told me my daughter was 3 years old,” she added. “I told them she’s 2, I know how old my child is, she’s going to be 3 in September.”
According to Bruck, the flight attendants walked away, but another worker came back moments later and gave her an ultimatum.
“She said, ‘Are you getting off the plane or are you staying?” Bruck said. “I told her, ‘I’m not going, I want to go home,’ but she just kept repeating (the question.)”
“I wasn’t making any trouble,” Bruck said. “Why did we have to experience such a thing? I am a woman flying alone with six children. They didn’t care.”
News 6 reached out to JetBlue for a comment and received the following:
News 6 also reached out to Bruck for an interview but she declined.
Anyone traveling with children during the coronavirus pandemic should check their airline’s policies before flying. Many require all passengers, including children over the age of two, to wear face coverings.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said the company informs customers of the face-covering policy during the booking process, in a pre-trip email, and during online check-in.
Delta’s policy states children under two, young children who can’t maintain a face covering and unaccompanied minors are exempt.
An American Airlines spokesperson said only children under two are exempt and no other exemptions are granted, even for those with verifiable medical conditions.
Frontier’s policy states everyone is required to wear face coverings during the entire travel experience and only children younger than two are exempt.
Spirit’s policy states appropriate face coverings are required during the entire journey and the only exception to the policy is for children under the age of two.