Couple Kicked Off Flight After Toddler Refused To Wear A Face Mask

A young family have shared footage of them being hauled off a flight after their two-year-old daughter refused to wear a mask.

Eliz Orban is emotional in the clip she shared on Instagram, which shows her, toddler daughter Edeline and her husband after they were booted off the United Airlines flight.

The family were due to fly from Colorado to New Jersey.

"We just got kicked off a flight because our two-year-old would not put on a mask," Eliz explained.

"And we're banned off United forever because a two-year-old would not put on a mask."

Eliz then showed footage of her husband trying to put the mask on their young daughter, who evaded wearing the face covering and looked visibly upset at the prospect.

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After several attempts, a gate agent approaches the family and quietly asks them to leave the plane.

"I'm going to have to ask you to grab your belongings and exit the aircraft," he said.

Orban's husband replied: "You gotta be kidding me. Why? We're over here holding this mask on her face."

The agent then says: "I'm sorry sir. I gave you an opportunity. I've got to ask you to get off this plane."

The family then try and explain they're holding a mask to their two-year-old's face.

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"We can't force her," Eliz said. "We're literally holding the mask to her face and she's crying."

The family are then seen leaving the plane, and asserting their situation to agents at the gate.

Eliz gave some further context in the caption for the video, which has since been viewed over six million times.

"Today, we were asked to leave the plane after it had rolled out, and they had to bring it back to the gate, because our two year old daughter would not 'comply' and keep her mask on," she wrote.

"Since our bags weren't taken off the plane (they did get our child seat) - we have to wait until tomorrow till they deliver it to our house in Breckenridge which is two hours from the DIA airport."

United Airline's mask policy does insist that all flyers who are two years or older must wear a covering on their face with 'no vents or openings' that covers the person's nose and mouth.

This is so they can prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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A spokesperson for the airline has since told Mail Online: "The health and safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority, which is why we have a multi-layered set of policies, including mandating that everyone onboard two and older wears a mask.

"These procedures are not only backed by guidance from the CDC and our partners at the Cleveland Clinic, but they're also consistent across every major airline.

"We are investigating this specific incident and have made contact with the family. We also refunded their tickets and returned their car seat and bags."

Topics: News, Coronavirus, Covid-19

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley