A Brooklyn mother and her six children were boarded a Newark-bound JetBlue plane in Orlando after their 2-year-old daughter would not wear a mask, according to reports.
Chaya Bruck, of Midwood, told WNBC that when she boarded the flight with the children on Wednesday, her youngest child, Dina, refused to wear the mask, leading to an argument with a plane about the age of the girl.
“He said, ‘No, she needs to cover her nose and her mouth,’ and I said I could try, but then she pulled it away,” Bruck told the news report.
“A few minutes later they came to me and they told me I had to collect my things and that I had to get off the plane,” Bruck added.
The mother refused to get off the plane because many of her fellow passengers came to her defense and told the crew to leave her alone, WNBC reported.
At that point, a plane told everyone to get off the plane and said they would be back as soon as possible.
Mobile video captured the confrontation with Bruck, who was crying as other passengers pleaded their case.
‘They were terribly annoying, my kids were crying. Really traumatic, ”said Bruck. I asked her, ‘Should I tie her hands and feet? What do you want me to do? ‘ They just wanted me off the plane. ”
Bruck, who settled in Florida, told the crew that it was her understanding that under the airline’s policy, her daughter was not required to wear a mask, The Yeshiva World reported.
“Small children who are unable to maintain facial coverage are exempt from this requirement,” read the JetBlue policy quoted by the Jewish News Store.
According to the Travel Alerts page of the company, which was updated at 2pm on Wednesday, “All travelers aged 2 and over must wear their face covering over their nose and mouth during their trip, including during check-in, boarding, while they are on the run and deplaning. ”
In an email to The Post, JetBlue spokesman Derek Dombrowski said that “in these unusual times, our first priority is to keep crew members and customers safe, and we have quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic.”
He said the airline’s mask policy was actually “last updated on August 10 to ensure that everyone wears a face mask – adults and children – to help prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
“Children 2 years of age and older must wear a face mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines, which state ‘Masks should not be worn by children under 2 years of age,'” he said.
Dombrowski added that travelers should be sent an email before their flights informing them of the latest safety protocols and mask policies.
“Our crew members are ready to help customers at the airport and on board who need support,” he said. “We have a flexible rebooking policy for those who are unable to meet this requirement, and customers who refuse to comply with these standards at the request of crew members will be checked for further travel accessibility on JetBlue.”
The spokesman added a sample of an email with check-in that he said had been sent to Bruck.
“All travelers 2 years and older must wear a face over their nose and mouth both at the airport and on board,” it reads, in part.
Meanwhile, Bruck’s husband told The Yeshiva World that he would retain a lawyer and file a federal lawsuit against the company.
Bruck did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
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