By Cassie McGrath
Source masslive.com
A flight from Logan International Airport in Boston to Salt Lake City International Airport was delayed by two hours Wednesday because a man refused to wear a mask on board.
He was removed by Massachusetts State Police troopers, who were informed about an issue between two passengers on a Delta Air Lines Flight 670 around 7 p.m., according to WCVB.
Face masks are required in airports and on airplanes until at least March 18 regardless of vaccination status, via the Transportation Security Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently said it does not have current plans to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on domestic flights.
A passenger told WCVB that the man was told to put it on about four or five times, but would remove it and laugh as soon as flight attendants turned around. The incident forced the pilot to return the plane to the gate where several state troopers removed the man.
He was escorted off around 7:15 p.m. and the flight took off from Boston around 7:45 p.m., according to WCVB. It was originally scheduled to leave at 5:45 p.m.
The man was not arrested and therefore hasn’t been publicly identified, the TV station reported, adding that police respond to mask issues every day at the airport.
This past summer, a group of high school graduates from Massachusetts were blamed for canceling an American Airlines flight to the Bahamas because they refused to wear masks.
“Prior to departure on July 5, passengers traveling on American Airlines Flight 893 from Charlotte (CLT) to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) were reported to be noncompliant with the federal mask mandate, became disruptive to other customers and refused to follow crew member instructions while onboard,” American Airlines said in a statement at the time.
Other issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have also significantly impacted travel.
During the holiday season, thousands of flights were delayed and canceled due to staffing shortages from the virus. In the fall, Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights as bad weather and staffing issues caused a scramble for staff.
“I want to apologize to all of our customers,” Gary Kelly, the chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines said during an interview with Good Morning America in October. “This is not what we want, but unfortunately it just takes a couple of days to get things back on track. Things are much smoother today.”
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