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In a video circulating on social media, the passenger can be seen acting aggressively towards members of the cabin crew. (@PostDominion, Twitter)
- A passenger was ejected from a FlySafair plane in Cape Town after he refused to wear a mask.
- The passenger became aggressive towards the cabin crew.
- FlySafair says its cabin crew spends more time asking passengers to wear their masks on flights.
FlySafair was forced to escort a rebellious passenger off a plane Tuesday after he refused to wear a mask on board.
According to the airline, flight FA201 was supposed to depart Cape Town International Airport at 08:50 and fly to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
But shortly after the doors were closed and the stairs were removed, a passenger “reacted negatively and aggressively to the legal requirement to wear his mask on board the plane.”
The captain was informed and it was decided to remove the passenger.
In a video circulating on social media, the passenger can be seen acting aggressively towards cabin crew members before several male passengers come to the aid of the cabin crew and defuse the situation.
“The flight deck crew shut down and secured the aircraft, which was in the process of departure, and communicated by radio for SAPS and for the stairs to be returned to the aircraft, in order to unload the unruly passenger,” he said FlySafair.
The aircraft departed at 09:10.
Marketing Director Kirby Gordon said that working under Covid-19 restrictions was difficult for the cabin crew.
It is not the first time that the airline has had to unload a passenger for refusing to wear a mask, which is a legal requirement to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
In October last year, a flight that was about to take off from OR Tambo International Airport to King Shaka International Airport was forced to return to the terminal after a passenger refused to wear a mask.
Gordon said the cabin crew spends time asking passengers to wear their masks.
“Instead of offering drinks, they now spend time asking customers to keep their masks on. We have to congratulate our team. [for] handling this and other situations with the tranquility, professionalism and dignity that [do]”Gordon told News24.
The airline said nothing was more important than passenger safety.
