AP Photo/Becky Bohrer
- In a Facebook post, Alaska State Sen. Reinbold said Alaska Airlines is impeding her ability to get to the capital.
- Reinbold claimed Alaska Airlines preventing her from flying is a "political ban."
- Because of the ban, Reinbold's commute from Eagle River to Juneau may take up to two days.
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Following her ban from Alaska Airlines for refusing to wear a mask, Republican state Sen. Lora Reinbold submitted a procedural request asking to be excused from votes for the remainder of the state legislature's regular session since she is unable to fly to Juneau, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The excusal will run from September 11 through January 15, three days before the legislature's next regular session begins, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
"If the only airline that has flights during session to Juneau can unconstitutionally impede a legislator's ability to get to the capital in a safe and timely fashion, it could undermine our representative republic," Reinboldt said in a Facebook post on September 9.
Responding to a constituent who commented that she should have worn a mask, she claimed, "I wore a mask in TSA, waiting area, and in plane. An activist had me banned. Not a single warning on flight never a yellow card. Its a political ban!"
The ban came after a video was posted to Twitter in April showing Reinbold arguing with staff in Juneau International Airport over mask rules.
A normal round trip with Alaska Airlines from Juneau to Eagle River, the city Reinbold represents, takes around 90 minutes. Now, her commute will take up to two days as Juneau is the only US state capital inaccessible by road - only by plane or boat.
Delta Airlines is the only other large carrier that flies into Juneau and its seasonal service to the capital ends in September, according to the Anchorage Daily News.