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Allegiant Airlines kicks passenger off flight reportedly over ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ mask

An Allegiant Airlines passenger was deboarded from a flight after he allegedly refused to change his mask that had 'Let’s Go Brandon' written over it

An Allegiant Airlines passenger was deboarded from a flight after he allegedly refused to change his mask that had “Let’s Go Brandon” written over it. The video of the incident was shared on Twitter by Libs of TikTok on February 16 and it has gone viral since then with more than 400k views. The video showed the man and a flight attendant arguing with each other as the latter one said, “The comment you’ve written on there,” while reportedly referring to his face covering.

The caption claimed, “This guy was reportedly kicked off a flight because he had ‘let’s go Brandon’ written on his mask and refused to change masks. @Allegiant employee claims it’s an ‘FAA regulation’.” Though the airline said the passenger was asked to leave the flight, they did not say it was because of the controversial phrase against President Joe Biden. They said the man was removed since he refused to follow the staff member's instructions.

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In a statement, Allegiant Airlines said, “The video in question depicts part of an incident involving a passenger who failed to comply with repeated crew member requests to adhere to the federal face mask policy. The passenger was removed from the flight and issued a refund for his fare. Disregarding instructions from flight crew members is prohibited by federal regulations and is grounds for removal from a flight where such conduct creates an unsafe environment.”

It went on to state, “The decision to remove a passenger is never made lightly and is always done with the safety of our passengers and crew in mind. In April, the FAA adopted a zero-tolerance policy against unruly passenger behavior, which includes failure to comply with crew members’ instructions,” before adding, “We welcome the FAA’s renewed strong stance on unruly passengers, understanding the safety risk such incidents can create for both passengers and crew.”

Meanwhile, the video has attracted a lot of comments from people online. A user tweeted, “The whole let’s go Brandon thing is stupid but it doesn’t warrant being kicked off a plane lmfao.” The second user wrote, “He was not loud or violent, who the hell are @Allegiant to be the thought police? Boycott this airline.” “@Allegiant is this how you want to do business? He was following the pointless mandate but still gets kicked off? Bottom dollar airlines pushing an agenda, smart move!” the third user added.

A person said, “1) hes allowed to film whatever he wants, hes being thrown off a flight, he does NOT have to take his phone video off 2) how in Gods name is let's go brandon a flight issue? this woman and this airline is bout to get SUED.” Another person noted, “I am by no means a legal expert (especially not US regs), but I don't think that a PIC's powers would go that far ie would hold up in court. Captains are given emergency powers to ensure the safety of all and regulatory compliance, but that wouldn't included unrelated issues.” A tweet read, “Not good to fly Allegiant in the first place. Lots of old planes and serious mechanical problems. but at least we know their political leanings, I was getting worried.”