Pensacola, Fl
A Chicago mother said she and her young child were expelled from a Southwest Airlines flight because he did not wear a mask.
Judy Djyansky said her 2-year-old son was eating snacks on the plane before it took off Saturday from Florida to Midway Airport.
The accident was partly recorded in a cell phone video, which began when a Fort Myers airport gate agent actually asked Dejansky and her son to leave the flight.
“Maybe four or five times they came and asked him to take off his mask,” she said. “Will he wear his mask for the duration of the trip, are you sure that he will wear his mask? Which I certainly was.”
She admitted her son was distracted by his snack.
“It was definitely a struggle right now because he had food in front of him, so at the age of two he was a little more distracted with food than wanting to lift the mask on his face,” said Dejansky.
She said that on the way down he was fine. She even snapped a photo of him without a mask on the plane.
“The flight attendants were totally okay with him, and that’s what they said,” she recalled. “Just work on it, and try to wear it. “
But on Saturday, the southwestern crew didn’t have it.
“They said that families use food as an excuse so that their children do not have to wear masks,” she said. “I said,” That is not the case at all here. “
After asking the flight attendant to give her six feet of space, Degancy said, the plane turned around when the gate agent forced the mother and son to leave the flight.
“I felt totally disrespected by the gate agent,” said Degyansky. “It was a really stressful emotional situation and totally humiliating because, once again, we were following the guidelines set out by the airline.”
In a statement, Southwest said the airline “requires all customers over the age of two years to wear a face mask or face mask while traveling to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19,” and “if the customer is unable to wear a face covering for any For one thing, Southwest regrets that we are unable to transport the individual. “
“We got our luggage, packed up, went back through security, and paid nearly $ 600 for an American trip home,” Degyansky said.
She said that her son slept without masks on that trip. American Airlines does not require masks up to 3 years old.
Florida is on a Chicago travel quarantine list and Dygansky said she and her son are in compliance with a 14-day quarantine. Southwest said it would return the money to anyone removed from a flight, but Dygansky said it has not yet heard from anyone from the airline or is receiving a refund.
