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- A passenger was removed from an Allegiant Air flight on Monday on accusations that he made “threatening statements” to the flight attendant, The Washington Post reported.
- A video of the incident shows the man saying he’s being removed for asking the flight attendant to wear a mask.
- Allegiant Air told Fox News that the flight attendant had lowered her mask while giving pre-flight instructions after some passengers said they could not hear her well.
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A man was removed from an Allegiant Air flight on Monday on an accusation that he made “threatening statements” to the flight attendant, The Washington Post reported.
However, a viral video of the incident shows a man being removed from the flight had asked the flight attendant to wear a face mask.
“I just asked somebody to put on their face mask, that’s all I did,” the passenger can be heard saying.
Allegiant said in a statement to The Post that the passenger “became disruptive during the pre-flight safety briefing … Following the announcement, the passenger persisted in making threatening statements to the flight attendant, to the point of harassment.”
The video shows a man asking to speak with the captain as he’s being escorted off the flight.
"I need you to come off or I get law enforcement," an employee could be heard saying on the video.
A spokesperson to Fox News that the attendant had lowered her mask while giving pre-flight instructions after some passengers said they could not hear her well.
"That's when the passenger became disruptive," the spokesperson told Fox. "This was not an 'ask.' The flight attendant's mask was back in place immediately following the announcement."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that face masks can help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Allegiant's mask policy says all passengers have to wear face coverings except children under two years of age. Masks can be removed to eat or drink but have to be put back on afterward. The rule also applies for crew workers, the airline says on its website.
"We have also had a few instances of customers who are hard of hearing or need to read lips requesting that a crew member briefly remove a mask for clarification," Allegiant spokesperson Hilarie Grey told USA Today. "Any incidents of noncompliance are reviewed and addressed on a case-by-case basis."
USA Today reported that Allegiant only began requiring masks on July 2, two months after other airlines did.
An attorney walked off his Allegiant Air flight in June after he saw passengers and crew not wearing masks, and no blocked seats to allow for social distancing, The Indianapolis Star reported at the time.