Durban - An unruly passenger who refused to wear a mask on a FlySafair flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg was thrown off the plane just minutes before take off on Tuesday.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the angry man can be seen arguing with a flight attendant while another man - presumably security - is seen directing him off the flight.
While the commotion is ensuing, passengers on the packed flight can be heard telling the man to put on his mask.
The incident was confirmed byKirby Gordon, the Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair who said the man was eventually escorted off the flight.
“Flight FA201 was due to depart Cape Town for Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport at 08:50 ... (on Tuesday morning). Shortly after the doors were closed and stairs were retracted a passenger reacted negatively and aggressively toward the legal requirement that he wear his mask aboard the aircraft,” Gordon said.
“As per required protocol, the Captain was immediately informed of the situation and the decision was taken to offload the individual. The Flight Deck team powered down and secured the aircraft which was in the process of departure, and radioed for SAPS and for the stairs to be returned to the aircraft, in order to offload the unruly passenger,” he said
The flight eventually departed Cape Town at 9.10am.
“Customer experience and on time departures are very important to us, but nothing is more important than safety. We commend our teams for following safety procedure by the book to secure the aircraft and remove the individual, and we thank those customers who assisted our team,” Gordon said.
National police spokesperson, Colonel Brenda Muridili said that no further action was taken against the passenger as the airline did not lay a charge.
IOL