‘Screaming’ anti-masker removed from American Airlines flight

An American Airlines flight from New Orleans to Dallas was delayed nearly an hour Friday morning when an enraged anti-masker refused to comply with a mask mandate meant to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Witnesses described the aggrieved passenger’s seemingly unreal tantrum to the New Orleans Advocate.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it before,” retired Tulane University history professor Patrick Maney told the Advocate. “Two heavily armed police came and told the lady to get off. She refused, and they then told her to get up. She was screaming and resisting as they hauled her up and put some kind of restraints on her hands behind her back.”

Insider reports that after being removed from the plane, the woman continued screaming in a gangway for another 10 minutes where she was detained by deputies. The plane had to return to the gate on account of the passenger’s outbursts. Others on the flight complained the unidentified anti-masker’s antics nearly caused them to miss connecting flights. She was reportedly arrested and cited for several offenses including disturbing the peace and simple assault.

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“American Airlines flight 1768 with service from New Orleans (MSY) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) was delayed due to a disturbance in the cabin where a customer failed to comply with the federal face mask requirement,” the airline told the Daily News in a statement. “We thank our crew for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”