Amanda Pendarvis explains having lived through the most humiliating and traumatising experience of her life after a flight attendant forced the pilot to turn the plane back around to escort her and her baby off the aircraft.
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According to Pendarvis, baby Waylon had never worn a mask before in light of severe asthma attacks. The mom had also provided a negative COVID test that the toddler had taken the day before. She said:
I was not refusing a mask, nor did I even say I wouldn’t try to keep a mask on my son. We were escorted off the plane as I was holding a mask over his little face. I genuinely don’t have words.
And added:
Mind you, Way is asthmatic. We had [shown] [the flight attendant] a negative COVID test Way had yesterday. Told him he has asthma and has never worn a mask before. He did not care that this asthmatic child was literally hyperventilating.
Common sense should prevail
American Airlines does allow for exemptions on mask-wearing to be made in extenuating circumstances if and only if written proof is provided. Unfortunately for Pendarvis and her two-year-old, she did not adhere to the proper policies instituted for exemptions. Still, president and co-founder of the consumer advocacy group Travelers Unite, Charles Leocha, believes the measures taken by the cabin crew were extreme and unnecessary:
Airlines that insist on having two and three year-old children wear masks at all times will always face problems. Treating a two-year-old like a 30-year-old is foolish and unnatural. Parents should help younger children practice wearing masks so kids are comfortable wearing them during flight.
He ultimately added that in special situations, like that of Pendarvis, common sense should be allowed to prevail. The mother and her child were eventually able to reach their final destination after being rebooked for travel on the next flight.
