Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Monday was the scene of a protest by a group of Massachusetts high schoolers who refused to wear masks, causing an American Airlines flight to the Bahamas to be canceled and creating a nightmare for dozens of passengers left stranded, reports say.
According to a report by WSOC-TV, the weekend was projected to be one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, with the airport expecting travelers to nearly reach pre-pandemic numbers.
Passengers on American Airlines Flight 893 to Nassau, Bahamas were set to depart at 9:30 a.m. Monday when mechanical issues forced them to switch planes. After boarding the second jet, a group of high school students decided to stage an anti-mask rebellion that lasted for several hours, the report said.
The CDC still requires masks on all flights because of COVID-19.
According to The New York Post, the group of more than 30 teens was from Boston.
Passenger Stephanie Krzywanski told WSOC-TV, “Some people’s vacations are ruined. They were only going for a couple of nights. Now, they have to get rebooked.”
According to passenger Malik Banks, who was seated next to the group of 30 students, “It was bad. First, they were yelling. They were cursing. They were being very obnoxious,” Banks said.
Banks noted that it wasn’t everyone in the group. “I would say 75% to 80% of them were being terrible kids, saying smart stuff,” Banks told the station.
“All they had to do was follow the rules, put the mask on, sit there. No smart-mouth comments. And they couldn’t do it,” passenger Christina Randolph said.
As a result of the teens’ actions, the flight was canceled, the report said, which meant Randolph’s vacation was shortened by a day. “Well, I’m a nurse, and it’s really, really hard to get time off work. So when you finally get time off, you really want to be somewhere you want to be,” she stated.
“Everyone has to follow the rules. Nobody likes it. Nobody wants to sit around and do this, but you’ve got to follow the rules,” Krzywanski told the station.
WSOC-TV said that according to police sources, no one was arrested.
Acknowledging the incident, American Airlines told the news outlet the flight from Charlotte Douglas was delayed until Tuesday. Stranded adult passengers were given a hotel voucher. Due to age rules for hotel bookings, the students were either 17 or 18-years-old and too young to get a room. They were required to spend the night at the airport.
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