A man was caught in a video that was removed from a Florida-bound flight at the La Guardia airport on Friday for not wearing a face mask.
The tense standoff unfolded when a man, whose name was not known, “covered his face and refused to put himself back on,” a Spirit Airlines spokesman said.
A video of the interior of the plane shows part of an exchange between a Port Authority police officer and the man, in which the officer asks the passenger to get off the plane and the man argues with him.
“I don’t want to force you, I’m asking you,” the policeman can be heard saying as he asks the man to leave the fight, who was heading to Fort Lauderdale.
A spokesman for the airline said the man finally agreed “to land alone rather than risk legal consequences.”
“The spirit will always err on the side of caution when it comes to the health and safety of our guests,” the spokesperson said. “Using a face cover is simple, it’s easy, and it’s critical for Spirit and the airline industry in general.”
A port authority police representative did not immediately respond.
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