US Flight delayed due to teens who refused to wear masks

An American Airlines flight from North Carolina (USA) to the Bahamas was delayed for a day after about 30 teenage passengers refused to wear masks, local media reported Tuesday.

Flight 893 was scheduled to take off from Charlotte Douglas Airport on Monday night and did so on Tuesday morning, with those responsible for the brawl still on board.

An initial delay of several hours was caused by mechanical problems, but when the plane was finally ready to take off, an argument arose between the crew and a group of young people who refused to comply with federal regulations that require all passengers to wear face masks aboard flights to combat covid-19, local channel WSOC-TV reported.

“It was horrible. First, they were screaming. They were insulting. They were being very annoying,” witness Malik Banks told the channel.

The group consisted of about 30 Boston high school students celebrating their graduation. They finally agreed to wear masks the next day, after spending the night at the airport. Police made no arrests, local media reported.

The incident reflects a decline in civility on board, according to US airlines. Industry unions and federations last month called on the Justice Department to more systematically target violence on airplanes.

Since January 1 of this year, 3,271 incidents involving passengers have been reported, including 2,475 involving passengers who refused to wear face masks, according to a press release from the US aviation agency FAA published on Tuesday.