American Airlines Delays NC Flight to Bahamas When 'Disruptive' Passengers Refuse Masks

Jul. 6—An American Airlines flight out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport was delayed by a day after a group of passengers refused to wear masks, the airline confirmed Tuesday.

The flight, American Airlines Flight No. 893 to Nassau, Bahamas, was scheduled to leave Charlotte on Monday.

But a group of passengers refused to comply with federal COVID-19 mask requirements and became "disruptive to other customers," according to American Airlines spokesman Andrew Trull.

Those passengers were asked to leave the plane, and the flight was delayed until Tuesday morning, according to American.

"We expect our customers to comply with our policies when they choose to fly with us, and we take action when that is not the case," Trull said in a statement.

All customers were given hotel vouchers, and the disruptive passengers ultimately agreed to follow mask mandates on the next flight, according to American.

Some passengers told WSOC-TV that the disruptive passengers were a group of students from a Boston-area high school. "They were yelling. They were cursing. They were being very obnoxious," one passenger told the station.

American would not confirm details about the disruptive passengers to the Observer.

Other reports of disorderly passengers have surfaced out of the Charlotte airport in recent weeks. One TikTok video posted in June showed an American Airlines flight attendant scolding passengers who verbally abused them on a flight from Los Angeles to Charlotte.

That flight was diverted to the Raleigh airport due to bad weather. At least one passenger insulted flight attendants after he was asked to put a mask on.

Patience urged at the airport

The flight delay comes in the midst of a busy holiday weekend for CLT.

Ahead of the weekend, the airport asked for patience and suggested passengers arrive at the airport three hours before their flight.

Passenger travel at the Charlotte airport has slowly recovered after seeing a deep dive in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In May, the most recent month of passenger data available, more than 2 million people boarded planes at CLT — a big increase from 499,000 people in May 2020, according to CLT numbers.

That also marks the first time the airport has reported more than 2 million passengers boarding planes in a single month since January 2020.

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