American Airlines pilot threatens to ‘dump’ maskless MAGAs in Kansas over incessant ‘USA’ chant: ‘I don’t care’
A bunch of maskless MAGA supporters onboard a flight was taken aback when the pilot threatened to "dump" them off in Kansas by diverting the flight, as they wouldn’t stop chanting ‘USA’. A video captured by one of the passengers shows a significant number of Donald Trump supporters being called out by the pilot for their little misadventure.
The incident occurred on American Flight 1242, which departed Friday, January 8, afternoon from Reagan National Airport in Virginia and was supposed to land in Phoenix Sky Harbor in Arizona. When the passengers continue to chant despite the warning, the pilot made the announcement.
He says, “This is the way it's gonna be… it's a four and a half hour flight to Phoenix. We'll put this plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump people off -- I don't care. We will do that if that's what it takes, so behave, please.”
When contacted by Daily Mail, the airline reportedly told the publication that the passengers “refused requests by airline staff to wear face coverings.” Meanwhile, a different spokesperson said, “At American, we take the safety of our customers seriously and we value the trust they place in our team to care for them throughout their journey. Prior to departure from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the pilot onboard flight 1242 made an announcement emphasizing the importance of following crew member instructions and complying with mandatory face-covering policies.”
Conservative activist and political commentator Mindy Robinson, who also happened to be on the same plane took to her Twitter to share, “Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting 'USA' ...and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule. American Airlines is everything but American.”
Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting “USA” ...and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule.
— Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) January 8, 2021
American Airlines is everything but American.@AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/duFt2W90cc
Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, following the Capitol riots, demanded that any rioter who was identified as having broken into the Capitol building should be banned from future flights.
He said, "We already saw reports of “unruly mobs” in air on the way to Washington, DC. It does not take much imagination to envision how they might act out on their way out of DC if allowed to fly unfettered." Thompson further urged the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to add the rioters to the federal "no-fly list", which was created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack in Pennsylvania, Washington DC and New York.
According to reports, American Airlines announced on January 7 that they will no longer serve alcohol on flights to and from the nation's capital after flight attendants "were forced to confront passengers exhibiting politically motivated aggression towards other passengers and crew."
"We are working closely with local law enforcement and airport authority partners to ensure the safety of our customers and team members on the ground and in the air,' the airline's statement read further.
Meanwhile, TSA said on Wednesday, January 6, that it has multiple layers of security in place after witnessing the violent riots.