Violence broke out on an Allegiant flight, waiting to take off from Mesa-Phoenix to Provo, UT, because a passenger was wearing a face shield instead of a mask.
About 30 seconds of the incident was shared in a video posted to Instagram by another passenger. It shows what appears to be an airline worker twisting the man’s arm as he pulls the older man from his seat. A passenger in the row behind is seen with his arm around the man’s neck. A passenger in the row ahead can be seen throwing punches – his face mask pulled below his nose.
Fists fly on a flight. Watch the caught-on-camera mask face-off and how one passenger's face covering ignites chaos. And the airline rule you may not know about. Today at 4 p.m. on the NBC4 News. https://t.co/khBkKYBxvk pic.twitter.com/szBZPnpc8y
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) October 5, 2020
It started with an argument between the man in the face shield and an airline attendant. An NBC News report isn’t clear about who threw the first punch, but only the man with the face shield was forced off the plane.
Allegiant Air policy allows face shields but still requires a mask to be worn with them.
Was this man the victim of an assault? Should the other passengers have been removed? What would happen a customer, who walked into a convenience store without a shirt or shoes or even a mask, was attacked by other customers then forcefully removed? Who would be arrested in that case? How likely are you to fly Allegiant?
