Passengers Kicked Off Flight, Rest of Plane Celebrates

Two people were forced to deplane after refusing to mask up properly
By Liz MacGahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2021 4:34 PM CDT
Passengers Sing Goodbye Song to People Kicked Off Flight
File photo of American Airlines aircraft at a gate.   (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Masks are required in airports and on commercial airliners. It’s not just a common-sense guideline to curtail the spread of COVID, it’s a federal law. And it’s not new; the rule has been in place since February. But it still seems to come as a surprise to people who hate masks but still somehow want to fly to their destinations. And if the passengers kicked off an American Airlines flight on Friday somehow hadn’t heard about the need to mask up on planes before going to the airport, the nine hours their flight was delayed should have been plenty of time to get up to speed. Instead, once aboard, two people were told to wear their masks properly, and, when they didn’t, the plane returned to the gate and they were kicked off, the Independent reports.

Video of the incident posted on Instagram shows a hazy view of a blonde woman in a red T-shirt and a man in a black T-shirt grabbing their things from an overhead bin. What it very clearly shows is other passengers laughing and singing "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam—the goodbye song most often heard at football games these days. The official statement from the airline, “American Airlines Flight 1469, with service from Miami (MIA) to Houston (IAH), returned to the gate to deplane two customers who refused to comply with crew member instructions or adhere to federal face covering requirements," doesn’t mention the song, per NBC Miami. (At least nobody got hurt this time.)

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