American Airlines Removes Mother, 2-Year-Old From Flight After Toddler Refuses To Wear Mask

KEY POINTS

Rachel Davis said in an Instagram post this was her fourth flight with American Airlines in a week
Her son was not asked to wear a mask during the previous flights
Davis has asked the airlines to apologize

American Airlines removed a woman and her son from a flight after the 2-year-old boy refused to wear a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, the New Hampshire mother claimed.

Rachel Davis, 34, of Portsmouth, said in an Instagram post that as she was boarding a flight Sept. 17 from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Manchester, New Hampshire, a flight attendant told her the toddler needed a mask.

"I tried repeatedly, begged him, bribed him, pleaded with him, did everything I could while he was screaming and crying as I tried to hold him and put the mask on, feeling my absolute lowest of lows as a mother," she wrote on Instagram.

Davis said it was their fourth American Airlines flight in a week, and that her son hadn't been asked to wear a mask during the previous trips.

"I continued trying to get him to wear the mask, bawling my eyes out and hyperventilating behind my own suffocating mask," Davis explained in the post, which had more than 190,000 likes as of early Tuesday.

The American Airlines website said all passengers aged two and above were required to wear a mask when flying and those who declined to do so “may be denied boarding and future travel on American.”

Speaking about the incident to Portsmouth Herald, American Airlines spokeswoman Gianna Urgo said, “Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey. We’ve reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.”

Davis said she wants an apology for how she was treated.

"I’ve been processing everything since that day, and I did not expect to have to figure out how to process this in front of thousands of new people who are watching and judging my every move. This is brand new territory for me, so thank you to those who are showing me grace and compassion as we navigate," she wrote.

"While I realize many will misunderstand even this post I’m writing right now, I want to bring awareness to very real scenarios that are happening everyday now."