Well, at least this one didn’t wind up turning into a fist fight.
A Southwest plane that was scheduled to depart from Nashville International Airport returned to the gate minutes after leaving, due to a passenger who refused to wear a face mask.
Dan Lanson, a Southwest spokesman, told The Tennessean, “”Shortly after pushing back from the gate, Flight 2388 from Nashville to Las Vegas returned after a customer refused to follow our face covering policy.”
Southwest, which is keeping their middle seats open through November 30th, has the following policy regarding facial coverings:
Customers are required to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times during their Southwest travel experience. It is highly encouraged to bring your own hand sanitizer and face covering. A well-secured cloth or mask that fits snugly against the face, covers an individual’s nose and mouth, and is secured under the chin will be accepted. In alignment with the intention of this policy, these are a few examples of coverings that will not be accepted: (1)Those with holes in the covering, including those with exhalation valves or those made solely of materials like mesh or lace fabrics and (2)Those that cannot be secured under the chin, including bandanas and face shields. Face shields may be worn in addition to face coverings, but not in place of face coverings. Neck gaiters (also called multi-bands) may be worn as face coverings so long as they cover the nose and mouth and are secured under the chin.
The passenger was not wearing a face mask and refused to comply with the flight attendant’s instructions. Therefore the decision was made to return to the gate and deplane all the passengers from the flight. At this point, DPS officers brought the woman to a Southwest gate for a refund, since she would not be on the flight.
Fellow passenger Kevin Ross wrote on his Facebook: “Passengers thanked her for ruining their day [they missed connections due to what turned out to be a 60 minute delay] and screamed back, ‘I’m allowed! I’m allowed!’ to which at least half of the passengers in unison yelled back ‘No you are not!'”
Southwest processes the woman’s refund, which was followed by officers escorting the woman to the non-secure area of the airport.
“What a scene,” Ross continued in his Facebook post. “I must say I took some pleasure when an old grey haired man yelled, ‘Bye, Felicia.'”
Nashville Airport spokeswoman Kym Gerlock said the passenger was not arrested.
Feature Photo: Public Domain
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#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
