An entire flight was cancelled, with all of its passengers evacuated, because flight attendants asked that a 19-month-old infant wear a face mask before liftoff.
Moreover, the family claimed that the attendants threatened to call the police and even arrest them if they don’t comply.
According to CBC News, Safwan Choudhry said he and his family boarded a WestJet flight on Tuesday to fly from Calgary to Toronto. As the flight attendants checked the cabin, they told Choudhry that even their young daughters are mandated to wear masks.
While they complied to putting a mask on their 3 year old daughter, the family said they were confused when the attendants asked that their 19-months old infant also wear a mask. This is not mandated as only those above 2 years old are to wear masks when aboard a flight.
Regardless, the family said they listened and tried to follow the instructions as best as they can. Saying that they knew there was no need to do so but did so anyways because they wanted to return home, the parents tried their best to put a mask on their youngest daughter.
Unsurprisingly, trying to put a mask on a child not even 2 years old was no easy feat. The family recall how their daughter first cried her lungs out before going onto throw up from all the crying. This happened as the flight attendants just watched.
When the baby threw up, the flight attendants told the Choudhry family that they had to leave the plane. It was at this point that Safwan says the crews mentioned calling the police and muttering about arresting the family for violating the health regulations that have been imposed.
As they waited for the police to escort them out of the plane, they heard as the pilot announced how every passenger had to leave the plane for health and security reasons. Safwan states that he felt extremely sorry for causing such a hassle for everyone.
WestJet defended themselves by saying that the family was kicked off the flight because they refused to put a mask on their 3 year old daughter. The family denied the claims, saying that they have video evidence that shows her in a mask.
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Replaced!