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- A family reportedly left a Frontier Airlines flight over a mask dispute involving their child.
- They accused Frontier of treating them like criminals when their toddler couldn't keep his mask on.
- The airline is issuing a refund for the family, according to KXAN.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A woman said she felt like she was treated as a criminal on a Frontier Airlines flight when her toddler couldn't keep his mask on.
Rebecca Sylvia-Cramer, her 2-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter, and her mother were all set to fly from Denver to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, local outlet KXAN reported.
Sylvia-Cramer, who had given her son a lollipop, said she was treated like a criminal because the child was unmasked while eating.
"I had one [mask] ready for both my kids, and I said, 'He's eating now.' It's my understanding that if kids are eating, they can take their masks off," she told KXAN.
Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The news follows a similar incident in July, where a family said two Southwest Airlines flight attendants and a gate agent treated them like criminals when their toddler could not keep his mask on.
When the family feared police were being called to arrest them, they voluntarily stepped off the flight, according to KRON4. They vowed to never fly on Southwest Airlines again, the outlet reported.
In the Frontier incident, Sylvia-Cramer said her son was first approached by a flight attendant, who told him he needed to stop playing with the armrest.
There were no passengers in the row in front of her family nor the row behind, Sylvia-Cramer told KXAN.
She said that when she was told crew members were trying to decide whether her family should catch another flight, they voluntarily got off the plane.
According to KXAN, Sylvia-Cramer was in tears when she addressed the cabin crew. "I stood up, and I said, "I'm so sorry. I'm pregnant, and I have two toddlers, and I'm just doing the best I can," she said.
The passenger said she believed in the value of face masks as they have kept her family safe. "My son has a kidney issue, and I am pregnant, so we can't get sick," she told the outlet.
KXAN reported that the airline is, however, issuing a refund for Sylvia-Cramer, who said she ended up driving from Denver to Austin.
Earlier this month, an unruly Frontier passenger was duct-taped to his seat. The airline said it supported the crew's actions, as Insider's Sinéad Baker reported.