A family was booted from a United Airlines flight in Denver and banned for life when their 2-year-old daughter wouldn’t wear a mask.
Eliz Orban and her husband boarded the Newark-bound airplane with their child. While the parents were wearing face coverings and tried to get their daughter to wear one too, she refused.
Through tears, Orban said in a video, “We just got kicked off the flight because our 2-year-old would not put on a mask, and we tried.” She also shared footage of them trying to get their daughter to wear the mask.
As Orban and her husband were coaxing their daughter to wear a face covering, a flight attendant walked up to them and said they were being kicked off the flight. The husband said he was trying his best to get the child to comply and was willing to cover his daughter’s face, but the attendant wasn’t convinced and still asked them to leave.
At that time, United also wouldn’t give them their luggage from the cargo hold, which included their child’s car seat. Orban added that they’re forbidden from flying with the airline ever again.
United Airlines later released a statement to TMZ regarding the incident: “The health and safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority, which is why we have a multi-layered set of policies, including mandating that everyone onboard two and older wears a mask.”
The statement continued, “We are investigating this specific incident and have made contact with the family. We also refunded their tickets and returned their car seat and bags.”
CDC guidelines suggest that children older than two should wear face masks.
