Getty A JetBlue Airways jet sits on the tarmac at O'Hare Airport October 26, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois.
Chaya Bruck, a New York City woman, was set to travel with her six children from Orlando to Newark on a JetBlue flight on Wednesday when she was kicked off the plane because she said her two-year-old daughter would not wear a mask. The upset mother recorded the incident and posted it on Facebook, writing, “Shame on you for harassing me and kicking me off with my 6 children.” The post is no longer publicly available but the video is available in this article.
She added, “You have traumatized my children and me for life and in fact violated Jetblue Air written policy posted on [your] website stating that young children who are unable to wear a mask are exempt. This was also announced on the loudspeaker on the plane but nonetheless your flight attendants still [harrassed] me and kicked me off the plane.”
Here is the video:
All Passengers Had to Get Off the Plane After Many Began Defending Bruck
In the video, which runs over two minutes, Bruck and a flight attendant can be heard arguing. Bruck asks, “Do you realize she is 2?” To which the crew member responds, “I do. And I also … It’s not something that we can excuse.”
Bruck then asks, “Should I tie her hands? What should I do? Should I hold her hands?” The crew member then tells Bruck they have to deplane, but Bruck refuses, saying, “No. I am not going to deplane. I can try my best,” and asks if the child can just keep the pacifier in her mouth. Bruck tells the flight attendant that she has six kids on the plane and her luggage is in the hold. She says, “I have six kids. I am not going anywhere. I swear this will be in the media. My husband is an attorney and I swear to you guys, this will be in the media.”
Many passengers can be heard supporting Bruck, especially when the crew member tells her to deplane. One person can be heard saying, “She didn’t do anything wrong.” Another reminds the crew member that children are exempt from masks according to JetBlue’s website. The video ends with many yelling their support of Bruck, prompting the crew members to ask everyone to leave the plane. Everyone was able to get back on the flight afterward, with the exception of Bruck and her family, NBC reported.
Bruck was able to fly home later that day on a United flight. She told the New York Post in an interview on Thursday, “I was completely taken aback. They were rude. They were harsh. My kids were scared. They were crying. It was extremely traumatic. I was shaking.”
Bruck Says an Airline Executive Called to Apologize & the Company Issued a Statement
Bruck told Fox35 that the entire experience was “humiliating.” She told the outlet that she received a call from a JetBlue executive on Thursday morning who apologized and refunded her return flight.
A JetBlue spokesperson told FOX35 in a written statement:
During these unprecedented times, our first priority is to keep crewmembers and customers safe, and we’ve quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic. Specifically, our face covering policy was updated most recently on August 10 to ensure everyone is wearing a face covering – adults and children alike – to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. 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.’
Bruck told NBC News she hopes the airline will review its mask-wearing policy to help accommodate children who have difficulty keeping their mask on.
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