Students From Winthrop Reportedly Delay Flight By Refusing To Wear Masks; FAA Investigating
BOSTON (CBS) -- The FAA is investigating after a flight was delayed by a group students from Winthrop who reportedly became disruptive and refused to wear masks.
The flight was scheduled to leave Charlotte, North Carolina for the Bahamas on Monday but was delayed an entire day because of the scene these students caused.
Passengers on board told a Charlotte TV station the unruly group were students from a Boston-area high school, and that they were yelling, cursing and being "very obnoxious."
"The FAA is aware of the incident and investigates all reports it receives from airlines," the FAA said in a statement.
An American Airlines spokesperson would not confirm any specific details about the passengers, but said they refused to comply with the federal mask mandate and were asked to leave the plane.
All customers were given hotel vouchers and American Airlines says those disruptive passengers ultimately agreed to follow the mask mandate on the rescheduled flight the following day.
Student travel company Breakaway Beach said in a statement that 47 recent graduates were headed to the Bahamas. They did not identify which school or schools from which the students had just graduated.
Breakaway Beach said that according to "travelers and the trip leader," one or two students may have been misbehaving or removed their masks, and one was escorted off the plane. They said "the students that were abiding by the rules should not have had to endure this type of treatment."
"The group was treated in an improper and overly harsh manner, causing unnecessary stress and aggravation to the travellers and their parents from afar," Breakway Beach said.
Other passengers say it was clear the students were not behaving.
"I would say 75 to 80 percent of them were being terrible kids," one passenger said. "Saying smart stuff."
"All they had to do was follow the rules, put the mask on, sit there, no smart-mouthed comments," another passenger said.
