I feel like incidents like these just fuel the culture war and bring needless attention to immature people, but it is so important to be precise in our language. A man was told by an Allegiant Air gate agent that his “Let’s Go Brandon” mask was not permitted onboard because it was against Federal Aviation Administration regulations. No, that’s not right. It’s actually a critical distinction.
Allegiant Air Employee Claims “Let’s Go Brandon” Mask Is Against FAA Regulations
You can watch the video below, which clearly shows an Allegiant Air employee telling a man that he would have to exchange his mask or not be permitted to remain on the flight, then justify it on the basis of an FAA regulation:
This guy was reportedly kicked off a flight because he had “let’s go Brandon” written on his mask and refused to change masks. @Allegiant employee claims it’s an “FAA regulation” pic.twitter.com/4ipRbqggEB
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 16, 2022
That’s a pretty damning video…
Even so, keep in mind this story comes from The Daily Wire (a partisan news source) and that we do not have the video in context. Indeed, we don’t even have any images of the man actually wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” mask (tough it was purportedly scribbled onto his surgical mask, which I cannot see).
My point is simple and generally applicable: when government policy is blamed for blocking speech, it plays into the hands of those who wish to undermine societal norms and create self-serving disruption. Allegiant Air is free to regulate the wording on masks as it sees fit: it is not subject to the U.S. 1st Amendment to the Constitution. But I hope all constitutional scholars would agree that the FAA cannot pick and choose what political messages it will allow as part of the federal government’s mask mandate.
An Allegiant spokesperson hinted that there was more to the story, yet failed to provide additional background:
The video in question depicts part of an incident involving a passenger who failed to comply with repeated crew member requests to adhere to the federal face mask policy…. The passenger was removed from the flight and issued a refund for his fare. Disregarding instructions from flight crew members is prohibited by federal regulations and is grounds for removal from a flight where such conduct creates an unsafe environment…
The decision to remove a passenger is never made lightly and is always done with the safety of our passengers and crew in mind. In April, the FAA adopted a zero-tolerance policy against unruly passenger behavior, which includes failure to comply with crew members’ instructions. We welcome the FAA’s renewed strong stance on unruly passengers, understanding the safety risk such incidents can create for both passengers and crew.
But the video seems clear enough: the man was targeted for his message (fair enough…I think the “Let’s Go Brandon” shtick is incredibly childish and clearly a cover for a vulgar statement) and it was justified on the basis of government regulation (false).
CONCLUSION
Kyle offered a thoughtful piece on “Let’s Go Brandon” masks and the struggle for airlines as to where the draw line is real…this is not a simple issue. But blaming the FAA for prohibiting a political mask…goodness no.
This site has become too political. I shan’t be frequenting it that often.
@ChuckMO, is the problem that the site is too political or you don’t like my politics? If the latter, I’m curious how you would describe my political leanings.
But I publish a lot of stories…it’s only natural that some you may find off-putting.
My problem is that the comments are so partisan. I assume nothing about your politics and really couldn’t care less. But the core purpose of this site is to promote travelling, and it’s became something else.
I would argue we’ve certainly seen more clickbait and I will address this shortly in a post (especially after One Mile At A Time reflected on it), but you’ve also seen more trip reports the last year than anytime in the 12-year history of the blog.
Your friend from OMAAT probably blocked me since none of my comments appear in his posts anymore. I am not missing much there anyway.
I love your trip reports, it’s the community that responds to this.
Allegiant hd the right to throw the passenger off
However, the FA should be fired as she said it was FAA regulations that caused the passenger to be thrown off. She was almost (or want to be) acting as an agent of the administration by saying that
I completely agree.
We have to remember the days after 9/11 when white terrorists and their mothers could say they were uncomfortable with brown people flying and the brown people would be unloaded for no valid reason.
Now that jan/6 has proved that whites are bloody terrorists and traitors it’s time we start unloading whites anytime anyone says they are uncomfortable with those terrorists onboard.
People just had to say they were uncomfortable with this terrorist onboard. Freedom of expression should be protected.
Lots of terrorists commenting on your blog too. Hope they get waterboarded soon.
Simple question Debit if you care to answer. Are you black or just angry you are white? Without a doubt you are the angriest person on here regardless of the answer. And that’s saying a lot.
king [redacted by admin]
Sounds like you suffer from white envy.
I am derek, not Derek.
The man’s mask has “Let’s Go Brandon” that is so small that it’s difficult to read. The FA is a Nazi for kicking the man off. This lack of professionalism is why airlines should not be able to place people on no fly lists based on flimsy allegations. Flight attendants do not have the professionalism that brain surgeons (neurosurgeons) or eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) have. Some FA’s earn more than surgeons but most don’t.
a “Nazi”? OK
Ya, indeed a Nazi. Someone really needs to pick up a book and understand what a Nazi is, their goals, and how they went about to achieve their goals. False equivalencies are an indication of ignorance.
I guess flying certain airlines in today’s political atmosphere is like living in a dictatorship or communist regime. How sad. FAA regulations have no prohibitions barring political statements being worn by a passenger so long as it does not reflect vulgarity. The FA may not have liked the passenger’s politics but he was not in violation of any regulation. Perhaps he may have exhibited better taste while flying but from what I can see, he was not hostile with the FA at all. I wonder if the passenger was wearing a left l we Ming slogan on his mask if he would be asked to remove it. Sad!
The last sentence was written to say “left leaning slogan”! My apologies.
Masks!!! Even Democrat states already dropped that nonsense. During the Super Bowl it became clear that Covid doesn’t infect celebrities and politicians. But our beloved president insists to keep that on planes. And when someone tries to honor him wearing a mask with his name they are told to leave the plane. Oh well!!!!
You should certainly be allowed to criticize those in power, as long as you adhere to a rigid set of entrenched social norms and don’t say anything that anyone in power may find to be disagreeable or upsetting.
If conservatives had real leaders, arrest warrants would be issued in every conservative state and county for any flight crew member who denies service to a conservative. Just complaining and writing letters doesn’t cut. Conservatives should be using the legal system in conservative areas to their advantage like the left does to conservatives.
On the flip side, Democrats would be arresting all Republicans in blue states who support a former president that plotted to steal the election. And since blue states are the only ones worth a crap, it would be a real tough existence for Republicans. But that’s only what life would be like in your brain dead scenario
She was wrong and allegiant should be sued. Here is why. She alone decided she did not like his mask or his political statement. No one of good common sense would say he was unruely. She offered a false statement to try and force her will over another under the protection of king george, errr bumble biden. The airline then tried to use a vague reason as to why. Video doesnt hide anything. I hope he owns allegiant next week.
I know this will never make it to the blog :
LETS GO BRANDON!
LETS GO BRANDON!
LETS GO BRANDON!
LETS GO BRANDON!
It’s a shame when priss would have to resort to such measures to ensure blog traffic.
Let’s go Brandon
never flown allegiant air. a reason to never fly them.
masks affect peoples emotions….
There are non-partisan news sources?
Strange that America’s’ Constitutional rights seem to have suddenly become less important.
In Matt’s defence, yes, he loves clickbait, but he posts far more trip triplets than say OMAAT
The time has come. END THE MASK NONSENSE. How much more evidence do you need that they’re ineffective (as is the shot) at spreading the latest strain. You Covid Cultists need to drop it already. Only two types of people now…those that have natural immunity and those that will soon get it.
I wear a mask properly and have never gotten covid, and have flown dozens of times in the last year, and work in an office everyday… so by the law of “I’m the most important person in the world and only what I feel matters”, masks are 100% effective
Well..if you’re not obese or quite overweight…you might never even know.
and since testing can’t differentiate between flu and C19…well then.
Setting aside political beliefs, the reality is that the passenger should have refrained from wearing a mask that could create controversy while in the air. The last thing the airline needs is a riot in the air. Whether the FA used the correct terms in “FAA Violation” is beyond me, I don’t find it unreasonable for the FA to have made the request she made.
I do think the flight attendant overstepped here and was wrong. The phrasing itself is not offensive, although the ‘translation’ would be considered as such if printed on the mask.
Let me pose an extreme hypothetical analogy: if the mask had said F**K Trump (or BLM or Clinton or the Deep State or Soros or Science or Vaccines or Mandates or whatever else fits your idea of a villain)…and yes, the stars were there to prevent the actual F word from being in print, everyone knows what it means, but technically it’s not on the mask….would that be considered a reasonable level of offense to anyone here to eject the passenger? If not, why not?
There should be as a definitive a line as possible for all flight attendants and passengers to know what’s definitely not acceptable (like how much skin can be shown per the dress code)….and flight attendants would still have to make some judgement calls on the various gray areas that would come up of course, based on context/circumstances for that flight composition, expressed attitude, and indications of complications for complying with attendant instructions/safety…
But the FA should definitely be trained on and thus held accountable to the FAA and Carrier regs and not use them as some bludgeon and ‘excuse’ for their judgement when called for…they should just be clear about when they are using their own judgement vs regs and not mix them.
I’m not making excuses or condoning what actually took place, but in listening/watching the video, the GA seemed to have an accent when she spoke; I’m thinking that her phrasing may have been taken out of context and wondering if the whole “against FAA regulations” was not so much in reference to the mask itself, but with non-compliance of crew instructions to wear a different mask. At least that is what I concluded after reading the response from Allegiant.
In the grand scheme of things it’s petty on both sides and just goes to show the ignorance of all involved. One in that the passenger was clearly looking to make a political statement, but only made a half-hearted attempt to write it in small letters on the mask most likely having some sort of inkling that it would rile someone up. On the part of the GA, was she personally offended and made this more about her own stance rather than someone else making it an issue?
It’s Allegiant so they were probably heading to/from Punta Gorda, Phoenix/Mesa, St. Petersburg, Sanford FL, or Myrtle Beach, so aren’t Let’s Go Brandon masks pretty much considered required attire?
The part that is against FAA regulations- is going against a crew member. Not the actual mask.
That’s true, but that’s not what the ground agent said.
won’t be doing business with Allegiant – or any other airline for that matter – until the mask mandate is is lifted