A couple has been banned from flying on JetBlue after they refused to wear their face masks properly and abused crew members on a San Diego-bound flight.
The airline said the passengers were asked several times to properly wear their face coverings before takeoff but they ignored the federal mandate, ABC 10News reported.
A passenger aboard Flight 529 from Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday caught the Covidiots in action on his cellphone and shared the footage online.
“I was boarding right behind the lady, the blonde lady, and she was just like dancing around, taking boomerangs with her two children,” Alice told the news outlet, using just her first name.
“On the way into the plane itself, the flight attendant actually asked her to tighten her son’s mask. It was like very loose and very big for him. So, they didn’t do that either,” she said.
“Her husband walked down the aisle to the outside of the plane. Then this whole mess just started happening. When he came back, he just started yelling at the flight attendant,” Alice added.
The unruly man — who is seen in the clip being verbally and physically aggressive toward the crew — tells passengers he had to wait four hours for the flight, the footage shows.
He also claims he was only given one warning before he was booted from the plane.
“I’m sure you heard the whole plane like gasping,” Alice told ABC 10News.
The woman also is seen swearing at the employees and trying to explain that her son had his mask off briefly, adding that they tried to comply with the rules but flight attendants were not satisfied.
The couple and two children were escorted off the plane.
“I was entertained by it. I never seen something like this before, but I’m very sad about the fact that they just could complain with the federal mandate,” Alice said.
The airline told the station that “the customers will not be allowed to fly JetBlue in the future.”
In a statement, it said: “We apologize to our other customers on this flight for their experience during this incident. For reference, crew members are trained to speak to customers who are not following policies.
“If a customer refuses to wear a face mask after being asked, crew members will work to de-escalate the situation to the best of their ability to gain compliance prior to removal,” JetBlue said.
“The safety of each customer and crew member is our first priority, and we must work together to follow the federal mask mandate during the travel journey,” the airline added.
The incident occurred a day before President Biden announced that fines will be doubled for people who do not comply with federal transportation rules.
The president directed the Transportation Security Administration to hit violators with more severe penalties to “ensure that masking requirements remain in place on the other modes of transportation as we continue to battle COVID-19.”
“TSA will double the fines on travelers that refuse to mask. If you break the rules, be prepared to pay. And by the way, show some respect,” Biden said from the White House.
The agency announced that first-time offenders will see fines jump from $250 to $500 to $1,000, while repeaters could face fines up to $3,000.
There have been about 3,000 disputes over mask-wearing on US planes so far this year, officials said.