While perfectly within its rights, American Airlines once again demonstrates the foolishness of throwing off two-year-olds for not wearing a mask.
Another Two-Year-Old Mask Incident On American Airlines
A family was traveling on American Airlines from Charlotte to Jacksonville. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, a four-year-old, and a two-year-old.
As the family describes it:
Leshinsky said her daughter, Makenna, was eating a snack when the flight attendant asked if she had a mask.
“My daughter was literally chewing,” Leshinsky said. “The stewardess said, ‘you are going to have to put her mask on.’ I said, ‘I will as soon as she’s done eating.’”
Leshinsky said they tried getting Makenna to put on the mask, but she wasn’t having it.
“She would leave it on for a little bit and then she’d take it off because she wanted to eat, and we would keep trying to put it on. We were bribing her,” Leshinsky said.
Leshinsky said the crew brought a Federal Air Marshal on board to talk to the family.
But American Airlines defends its policy based upon both CDC recommendations and customer support:
American Airlines requires all customers age 2 and older to wear face coverings at airports and on board aircraft to keep all customers and team members safe. This policy is based on CDC recommendations due to the safety risk of asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission. Our professional flight attendants try to work with parents of young children and recognize ongoing compliance efforts when families are traveling with us.
Our customers overwhelmingly support and follow this policy and have been clear that they feel more safe when everyone is wearing a face covering.
American Airlines adds, “The family is not banned from flying with American if they are willing to comply with our face covering requirements for future flights.”
This isn’t the first such incident on American Airlines. We’ve also seen the same thing on Southwest and United. But unlike United, at least American Airlines has a clear policy that all children age two older (versus “older than two”) must wear a mask.
The eating exception is not intended to allow a passenger to spend the entire flight eating, but I understand (as the father of two young children) that when kids are hungry…they are hungry. If she really was just eating, even during taxi and takeoff, what exactly is the problem? There was no issues on the family’s earlier flight segments.
I still find the European approach of not mandating masks for children 10 and under a much more reasonable balance.
CONCLUSION
What I found most interesting in this case is that American defends its policy on the basis of customer feedback. Maybe that should guide mask policy onboard, but the bigger question is what marginal benefit requiring a two-year-old to mask up actually provides. Do you notice we don’t hear stories about three or four-year-olds being thrown off? It’s only two-year-olds. Maybe that should tell us something…
(H/T: View from the Wing)
What exactly was the Air Marshal going to do? Shoot them?
The problem is that US airlines do not actually read the CDC guidance: “If children and people with certain disabilities are unable to wear a mask properly or cannot tolerate a mask, they should not wear one.”
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html#mask-adaptations-alternatives
Then those children/people should not fly. Just because they want to fly doesn’t mean they should be able to endanger the other passengers. Now, how much danger the other passengers are actually in is obviously up for debate. But the airlines are allowed to set their rules. People who don’t want to follow them just shouldn’t fly.
I think part of the airlines reasoning for requiring everyone 2 and older is ability to get passengers to comply. While not the most scientific policy, it is the easiest for employees to enforce as no exceptions means no exceptions. Considering what seems like half the country believes this pandemic is fake, airlines need to be tough on this policy or no one will follow it.
Sure, the airlines can make their own policies. The issue is that they say, “Hey, we are just following the CDC guidance!” Which is not true. They made it up. Just own up to it and say, “this is not necessarily the CDC guidance, but it is our rule.” That is at least more honest, though unhelpful.
I agree with Matt. The airlines here in Europe and much more reasonable (not to mention that the science on 2-6 year olds and masks is virtually non-existent, so it is not as if the policy for US airlines is “better”).
You are an idiot. Do you have kids? If you do then you are a double idiot for your dumb snobbish comment.
Well, that has become the norm during the pandemic that people only read the parts of any information that fit their bias. The tech companies have given us the ability to quickly and easily do this. Someone at American Googles “who should wear a mask”, Google presents the quick answer anyone 2 and over (so you don’t even have to go through all of the effort of clicking a link and scrolling!) so that becomes the policy. Those google quick answers are so helpful.
“Follow the science,” amirite? Consider that the good Dr. Fauci and “science” initially said, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.” Whether masks are effective in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is debatable. I tend to believe that the downside of wearing a mask is minimal, so I don’t have a huge problem with wearing one as required. I started wearing one in late January while traveling through Asia and Europe, after the public became aware of the virus but long before any masking requirements were in place.
I do have a huge problem with public officials lying to the public about policies. Fauci flip-flopped on masks not because the “science” changed, but because he no longer thought his noble lie was necessary or tenable. The CDC was aware of airborne transmission of the virus months before it changed its official policy on masks. Fauci lied to the public because he thought it was more important to defend PPE stockpiles for front-line workers than to tell the truth. He lied again with his statements regarding herd immunity. How can he expect the public to trust him when is on record admitting to repeatedly lying to and manipulating them?
This disease overwhelmingly affects the elderly but public officials and the media conspire to strike fear in the general public, diluting policy responses. Instead of acting to protect the most vulnerable, the policy has been to have everyone cower at home as if at any moment anyone could be struck down by this horrible virus. Have you ever seen an age-stratified table of COVID-19 deaths reported in the mainstream media? It is easy to find on the CDC site, and yet I don’t believe I have ever seen one in the news. As of the end of 2020, under 4% of US COVID-19 deaths were below the age of 45 while almost 60% were 75 or older. Why is US news coverage of the pandemic so much more negative than in other countries? According to a research paper out of Dartmouth, “[R]esults suggest that U.S. major outlets publish unusually negative COVID-19 stories in response to reader demand and interest.” No one to blame but ourselves, then?
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/502890-fauci-why-the-public-wasnt-told-to-wear-masks
https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/vinay-prasad/90445
https://fortune.com/2020/11/29/covid-19-news-coverage-us-negative-stories/
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3735677
I forgot the link to the CDC COVID-19 death counts.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm
Sounds like you are arguing the wrong question. It is well recognized that kids die of coronavirus at a lower rate, but the question that matters for the question of mask wearing for kids On airplanes is how likely are they to give it to someone else? https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/147/1/e2020027268
At least in households, infected children (who tend to be more asymptomatic than adults), there is a 20% infectivity rate to adults. So kids can very easily spread the virus to adults, hence the rationale for requiring masks.
How is the Airlines following CDC guidelines when they are assigning passengers to fill all the seats ESPECIALLY THE MIDDLE SEATS on the plane. Help me understand, everyone must wear a mask to help keep each other safe but you do not have to practice social distancing. Truly a two year old baby eating food on a plane and not wearing a mask is SAFER than strangers sitting elbow to elbow with a mask on . Come on Airlines Carriers you have to do BETTER.
People have lost their minds. Getting a 2 year old to do anything consistently for hours at a time is just no going to happen.
The 2 year old rule is complete insanity. Agree that the euro approach is much more reasonable. I’d even be in support of 5 and up. But 2? Have these people ever met a two year old? Bc they clearly haven’t had a two year old.
No, they have not. The people at working in upper management at these airlines are a bunch of childless cat-ladies who long ago aborted any inconvenient pregnancies incurred from their hedonistic Girls’ Nights Out.
This is nothing more than a ploy to MAKE IT HARDER for families to travel with young children. Why else would such an asinine policy remain in place, when the Europeans have a perfectly reasonable compromise in their policies?
I doubt it was actually an air marshal. Probably an American Airlines supervisor (they dress in business attire).
As the parent of a young child (4 y/o boy), I understand the challenge of getting a young child to wear a mask. But, not doing so in an enclosed space does create a risk. As much as it pains me to say it, you should not be flying with young children right now unless you are confident that they can comply.
Our son wears a mask while inside at preschool and he has, in general, been really good with it. We found that having masks that reflect his interests (monster trucks and race cars) makes him more willing to wear the mask. TopTrendz has great kids masks in a variety of styles. Easy to find something that will align with your child’s interests.
The overlooked question here is why wasn’t the child declared by the parents to be a service animal? AFAIK, American Airlines does not mask requirements for service animals, although dogs and other mammals certainly have been known to carry Covid.
Give the kid a spot of Benadryl to knock them out or at least daze them for a while – problem solved.
Flight attendants love this arbitrary power they have and years from now they’ll still be demanding that passengers wear masks in the name of “safety” (and they’ll also do everything they can to milk the idea that it’s “dangerous” to do scary things like offer first class passengers drinks before departure).
Disgraceful. All staff on that flight should be fired for forgetting that they are in the SERVICE industry. Not the mask nazi training academy. Have a heart and think twice about how you will damage your employer by acting this way. These power hungry, sad little minions are coming out of the woods everywhere.
People in the service industry aren’t paid enough to give you and those if your ilk handjobs everywhere you go. Keep your germy brat at home or better yet, wear a condom!
Airlines have the right to make their own rules
However, it seems like this child was eating. The rules clearly say you don’t have to wear a mask while eating. Seems like the FA wasn’t following the rules in this case. If one cannot follow a rule this simple, what other rules is the FA breaking?
Flying is not a right, its a privilege. Bring up the two year old, so where do we draw the line? 3 years? 4 years? 5 years? who decides. People shouldn’t be flying during a pandemic anyways, so if you’re going to be extra about it then follow the rules. How is it we believe the parents over the airline? of course the parents aren’t gonna admit their kid did something wrong. If we can normalize people in MAGA hats and shirts being kicked off planes for not wearing masks, you can normalize kids being kicked off too.
The issue is, the 2 year old was eating
Do we need to go to the old school bus rule of “No eating, drinking, or smoking on board”?
If you are a citizen of the United States, the right to travel is among the recognized liberty interests provided in the US Constitution. Look up “Kent v. Dulles” if you have any doubts.
Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a similar right to travel for about 50 other countries that have acceded to that Treaty.
If flying is not a right, then I bet you believe rioting is a right. And why shouldn’t people be flying? People probably shouldn’t have an opinion that different than yours either, right? Where is the tolerance, Dear Tony?
Thank goodness for Air Marshalls (unless they forget their pistols in the bathroom or use the flight to smuggle drugs – both as they are known to do from time to time while saving exactly nobody, ever)!
Clearly this is all about virtue signalling and bullying, and nothing to do with health. There are few things more pathetic than seeing a small child wearing a mask, and few things with less scientific basis. If you aren’t disgusted by that, you might not be human.
I hope I never fly with the Flight Attendant responsible, but I must say I know the type all too well.
When you’re short on meaningful content you ought to refrain from stirring the sh***.
Most of you are reactionary and sheeplike. FACT- A mask cannot stop spread of a virus. DUH. All this mask crap is mental conditioning and positive passive programming for those that cannot think critically. Once the door is closed it is a big petri dish. 2 year olds dont get covid or they are non symptomatic.
Traveling with kids is difficult and the cat farmer who could not understand this is pathetic. You can bet that family will never fly AA and probably just drive from now on. Mission accomplished nazis.
The air marshal can get into hot water as this interaction is a big NONO for them.
Spot on.
Let me guess – you know (based on your “facts”) that masks don’t work – but I am guessing you also totally know (based on your “facts”) that there was widespread election fraud, Dominion voting machines are in league w/the Dems, and there is a global cabal of pedophilia elites – am I right?
You left out the Satanist cannibal part.
You must be a liberal. Too bad, so sad
3/3 chambers come 1/20…eat it, chump
The factually incorrect comments by the mother and apparent poor planning, along with her very partisan looking tweets make me doubt her account.
I spent Christmas with friends who have 3 children, 4, 7, and 12, and even while outside all day at the zoo, their kids wore masks the whole time. Turns out, when you slowly teach your young children to wear the mask longer and longer, they do not have problems wearing them for long periods or important things like school or travel. At 1:06 in the video the mother admits the 2 year old “never wore a mask.” That seems like the parents’ fault for not teaching the 2 year old over the last 10 months, and trying to slap one on for a plane ride without any practice. No one is surprised that this particular attempt failed. But some people seem surprised that the airline doesn’t take that as a legitimate excuse to not enforce the rules.
https://youtu.be/uJepx7UAkgk
https://twitter.com/breelee93
“You slowly teach your young child to wear the mask longer and longer”…oh, right. Like what the Government is doing to US…..
Yep. Slowly, consistently beat certain concepts into one’s head, whether subliminally or outright. Thats becoming the new normal, the new “American way”. Free thought, free speech, free any independence FROM the government is going by the wayside. Because big government knows so much more & whats best for YOU
Hope you had fun at the insurrection riots today
There was no air marshall – they don’t just roam around the airport waiting to be called to deal with errant 2 year old anti-maskers.
The European model is no better and equally pointless.
Spoken as a European father of two kids under 10, whom are both currently Covid positive, with symptoms.
We traveled over the holidays with a 25 month old. First leg, American lie flat first class no mask no problem. Second leg southwest. Immediately asked to mask our child. Our daughter wore it for just long enough to have the flight take off and we gave her probably a pound of chocolate to do so. I will say the flight attendant was very kind and gave us ample time to get her mask on. Took over ten minutes. Also, we practiced with various types of masks for almost a week and did some test runs in stores. I agree that the rule is arbitrary. Daughter still wears diapers, but is expected to understand a mask. The rule should be at 5 or European imho, that age children can understand. That said $100 of masks later and a lot of practice and we flew happily.
But is she a Trump supporter?
Nope – if she were, they’d be breaking down the doors at the US Capitol today with the rest of the right-wing rioters.
The d1ckwad next to me slow-ate a half-bag of peanuts (airline-sized) on a SEA-DFW flight. The fact that you’re “eating” should be unrelated. Take your finger, pull up the bottom of your mask, slip the food in, and chew with the mask. It’s not that hard.
Except we have been advised not to touch our masks
You have to go to a no eating or drinking rule if you want 100% mask wearing
Touching the bottom of your mask to lift it for a second is not different than touching your shirt. Sanitize afterwards if you can’t man up and manage a flight without eating a few peanuts. Suck it up, snowflake.
Go ahead and shove it where the sun don’t shine, champ
Yep. Slowly, consistently beat certain concepts into one’s head, whether subliminally or outright. Thats becoming the new normal, the new “American way”. Free thought, free speech, free any independence FROM the government is going by the wayside. Because big government knows so much more & whats best for YOU
The whole thing seems fishy. It’s amazing how when actual facts come out, the nonsense that people were spewing suddenly is shown to be skewed at best.
If your kid cant wear a mask on cue, accept that the airline has every right to kick you off at any time 🙂
I think we have reached peak stupid when a presumably full-grown man thinks a two year old should be thrown off the plan for not strictly adhering to the pointless mask mandates.
No, peak stupid is the US Capitol being evacuated for the first time since 9/11, due to Agent Orange whipping his brain-dead supporters into a frenzy.
Stay Proud (Boys).
Does Trump’s ridiculousness somehow preclude ridiculousness from the Democrats? The post did not Trump once, but TDS is a hell of a disease. UA-TDS, all TDS, all the time. What in the world will you think about under a Harris-Biden administration with Joe Biden as President?
He doesn’t care as long as he has supple young boys to play with.
Hey d!ck, your use of TDS is kind of amusing since, you know, all the Trump Sycophants stormed the US Capitol today and caused widespread destruction. Apparently it’s “delusional” to be anti-insurrection/edition.
Keep pretending you didn’t vote for him, chump. STFD and STFU.
Awe did you take your tongue off boy-taint long enough to sputter that out?
Keep pounding that keyboard in your parents’ basement, Mr. Tiny Hands
Keep pounding that tiny penis into underage mouth, loser.
I cannot for the life of me understand how people are getting kicked off flights for not wearing masks. I fly multiple times a week and besides take off and landing, I haven’t been asked to wear a mask once. It could be because I only fly in first, but once I have any kind of food or drink in front of me, nobody cares. I regularly go hours on a plane without putting one on. I don’t know who these ***hole flight attendants are, but I certainly haven not come across any