People online are reeling over a viral video that shows a mother being asked to leave a plane. The viral video shows a woman and other passengers expressing concern for a long delay. This seemingly resulted in her and her sleeping children being kicked off a flight. Here is what we know about the situation and how travelers can avoid being similarly booted from a plane

Why Were They Being Kicked Off A Flight?

@decemberdawn1 PLEASE SHARE! They kicked off not only this women and her kid but anther family and her kids too for asking questionsabout why our flight was delayed @flyfrontier @flyfrontierofficial ♬ original sound – December Sherman

The video was originally posted on March 13, 2022. A TikTok user (@decemberdawn1) captured the situation firsthand. A crew member can be seen asking a mother to come with her to talk, with no explanation. The woman urging the mother off the plane did not appear to be a flight attendant. She appeared to be security, a manager, or a gate agent.

She continuously asks the mother to leave her two sleeping children on the plane to go off the plane to talk. The woman was unclear as to what would be discussed and why. This led viewers to believe that they were kicking them off the flight in a sly way. At one point, she tells the woman needs to wake her children up. She even threatens to call someone if she does not comply. As the mother refuses to get up, other passengers state that it has been three hours of delay. According to the user who posted the video, the situation unfolded on a Frontier Airlines flight and even prompted her to no longer fly with the carrier. 

Some viewers speculated that the mother had caused a commotion of some sort. This was an assumption even though she appeared calm and collected on the video. Others thought that perhaps the airline had made a mistake and she was being asked to leave the plane so that someone else could have her seat. Although the context is unknown, the situation has prompted further conversations about being booted from a flight. 

More On Being Kicked Off A Flight

According to the Department of Transportation, passengers can not be bumped off of planes by crew after boarding unless there is a valid reason. The bumping of passengers usually happens when airlines oversell their seats. They might do this to compensate for no-show passengers which equates to underutilized seats. First, airlines have to ask for volunteers to give up their seats. If that does not work they can involuntarily deny boarding to passengers. Passengers typically can not be removed from an aircraft unless it is for security, safety, or health reasons. 

Many similar situations have occurred since airlines can bump passengers off an overbooked flight. Some airlines have reputations for involuntarily bumping customers. There is nothing people can do to guarantee they won’t be bumped from an overbooked flight. But there are a few things people can do to avoid being put in that situation regardless of their chosen airline. Fliers can be sure to meet the check-in deadline, get to their gate on time, buy higher-class seats, or have frequent flier status. These things may help them avoid getting picked for involuntary bumping.

Why Incidents Like This Are Significant

The crew were not booting Black people from the plane in the video. Despite this, the mysterious situation has travelers in the comments recalling their past experiences. The scary part of the situation is that the woman and her children were seemingly being kicked off the plane for asking consistent questions about the delay. If these types of repercussions are up to the discretion of the flight crew, there will likely be trouble for people of color who may be targeted. 

Technically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has established that race or ethnicity can not be a criterion for selecting customers to involuntarily bump. This certainly is not always the case, but it is the policy nonetheless. Travelers should know that they have rights regardless of the situation. Fliers that think airlines or crew have discriminated against them can press charges or sue. Passengers can also negotiate compensation with carriers if they wish to voluntarily be bumped off a flight. 

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