An Oklahoma woman has blasted a “truly evil, power-tripping” American Airlines flight attendant who removed her family from a plane because her asthmatic 2-year-old son wasn’t wearing his mask properly.
Amanda Pendarvis said she, her son Waylon and her mom were aboard Flight 1284 at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Monday on the second leg of a flight to Colorado Springs when the crew member in question approached her.
She wrote on Facebook that the man told her to “please contain your child, and pull up your mask” when the boy walked between the row because her mother was on the other side.
“I calmly replied, ‘sorry I’m trying to spare these other passengers of inevitable screaming, and since we haven’t taken off yet, I was trying to let him move around a bit before I have to put him in his seat,’” Pendarvis wrote.
“I also kept pulling up my mask that way naturally pulls down, and I also would pull on and off to eat crackers with Way … He had ZERO understanding, zero empathy; blatant judgment,” she continued.
A short video appears to show the boy screaming and crying while Pendarvis tries to place the mask over his face. At one point, he can be heard saying “no!” while she tries to calm him.
Sports journalist and political commentator Clay Travis also posted the clip on Twitter, writing: “A mom whose two year old wasn’t wearing his mask properly was kicked off an American Airlines flight.
“This is where we are, we have emboldened the biggest losers in our society to believe they are morally virtuous because they wear masks,” he added.
Pendarvis said the crew member — whom she identified as Carl – told her that her 2-year-old son would have to wear a mask the entire flight.
“‘Okay, well he’s never worn one before and I can assure you he is going to fight it and scream, and I don’t know if the other passengers wants to sit through that…but okay, I will try my best,’” she said she told him.
“He says nothing,” she wrote, saying her mother showed a female flight attendant a negative COVID test result for the boy – who was screaming — from the day before.
“She brought Carl the negative Covid papers, and came back and said, ‘I showed him, but..I’m so sorry. Just keep feeding him and try your best, but I GET IT,” Pendarvis wrote.
“My son has never worn a mask before, he was tired and fidgety and I couldn’t get him to keep the mask on. It escalated to the point he was covered in sweat, hysterical, and kept screaming ‘nooo, mama, NO!!!!!’ and he ripped a total of 3 different masks off of his face,” she continued.
She said Carl informed the pilot, who announced on the intercom that the flight was being delayed by a noncompliant passenger.
“Cool….now I have a screaming toddler, and am being publicly shamed by the flight staff and am made to feel responsible for people having a delay getting to their next plane/destination,” the mom wrote, adding that they had to give Waylon his emergency inhaler.
“It is at this point, we are officially asked to grab our bags and are escorted off the plane. A man behind us spoke up throughout all of this to Carl, telling him how INSANE and unacceptable his behavior was,” she said.
At the gate, the family was met by three police officers “who were very clearly expecting to contain a hysterical anti-masker who was flopping around,” not with a child in distress and his desperate mother, she said.
Pendarvis said friendly airline employees later placed the family on another flight to Colorado.
“Carl, I absolutely hope this gets to you. I want you to know I am an optimistic, see-the-best-and-hope-the-best-in-the-human-race kind of person,” she wrote.
“I don’t like playing the victim, and I kept trying to convince myself you were eventually going to show SOME decency to, at the LEAST, my beautiful little boy. You showed me, my son and my mother ZERO humanity as soon as you opened your mouth to speak to us,” Pendarvis added.
American Airlines spokesman Andrew Trull told The Post that the flight “returned to the gate prior to departure from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to deplane a party refusing to comply with crew member instructions to remain seated while on an active taxiway and to wear face coverings securely over their nose and mouth.
“After agreeing to adhere to policies instituted for the safety of our customers and crew, all individuals were rebooked for travel on the next flight to Colorado Springs (COS),” he added in an email.
Trull said that when flight attendants noticed “a minor in the party laying in the aisle and moving between seats on taxi out, our flight crew made multiple attempts (to) reinforce safety requirements.
“While addressing the party, our crew also reminded multiple individuals in the party that federal directives require them to wear a face covering at all times while on board unless actively eating or drinking,” he said in the statement.
“At no time was it made known to our crew members that a member of the party was experiencing an asthma attack or trouble breathing. Individuals were not addressed for failure to comply with face covering requirements at any point while administering treatment,” Trull added.
The spokesman also noted that all passengers older than 2 are required “to wear a face covering at all times while indoors at the airport and on board.
“Limited exemptions to the face covering requirement may be granted to individuals with disabilities who make a request to our Special Assistance team at least 72 hours prior to departure,” he added.
