ORLANDO, Fla. — JetBlue is standing behind its flight attendant’s decision to remove a mother and her six children from a flight in Orlando after the two-year-old daughter wouldn’t keep her mask on.
Passengers captured the confusion Wednesday when Chaya Bruck and her family were trying to fly to Newark from Orlando. Bruck’s youngest daughter, Dina, wouldn’t keep her mask over her nose and mouth.
“I was so taken aback,” Bruck said. “I said, ‘What did I do? Why?’”
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The JetBlue employee told the family they have a zero-tolerance policy for not wearing masks.
“(My daughter) started crying and no matter what, they said she has to wear it and has to cover her nose on her mouth,” Bruck said. “I said, ‘What am I supposed to do? Should I tie her hands or feet?’ Like, How am I supposed to force her to wear a mask?”
When other passengers saw what happened, they defended the family saying it’s unreasonable to expect a toddler to keep on their mask.
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“I stuck up for her,” said Chardette Poinsette, a witness and mother who said she and her family was also kicked off the flight when she defended Bruck.
In a statement, JetBlue said Poinsette and others “became uncooperative” and that they were “issued a full refund and escorted from the gate.”
JetBlue said it stands by its policy and that all customers receive an email before the flight that reads in part: "All travelers 2 years of age and older must wear a face covering."
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JetBlue said the policy was updated two weeks ago.
However, Bruck said the JetBlue website stated Wednesday that “Children who are not able to maintain a face covering are exempt from the requirement.”
As for if Bruck would travel again during a pandemic?
“Absolutely not,” she said. “It was extremely traumatizing for me and my family.”