A flight to London returned to Miami when a passenger failed to comply with a federal mask requirement, according to American Airlines. This is the latest flight disruption due to a disruptive customer.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, American Airlines Flight 38, a Boeing 777 carrying 129 passengers and 14 crew members, returned to Miami late Wednesday approximately an hour into the journey.
The return was “due to a disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement,” American said in a statement. “The flight landed safely at MIA where local law enforcement met the aircraft. We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The traveler has been banned from flying the airline pending an investigation, the carrier said.
The Miami-Dade Police Department said Friday in a statement that American called it in “reference to a female passenger refusing wear her mask.”
“Once the plane made it to the gate, the passenger was escorted off the plane by MDPD officers without incident,” it said. “The passenger was then dealt with administratively, by American Airlines staff.”
Last year, there were 5,981 reports of rowdy conduct on planes, with more than 71 percent of them linked to disagreements over a federal mask regulation that went into force early last year, despite the fact that airlines have required them since the coronavirus outbreak began.
Physical attack on crews occurred in a few instances. An American Airlines flight attendant was sent to the hospital in October after a customer allegedly punched her in the face, prompting the flight to be diverted.