Fight Over Face Masks on Spirit Airlines Flight Ends with a Taser

A Spirit Airlines flight from Newark to San Juan, Puerto Rico ended with a fight over face coverings, ultimately broken up by police. One passenger was ultimately tased during the confrontation, after getting physical with another flyer – and it was all caught on tape.

Wearing face coverings aboard aircraft isn’t just a best practice to reduce the spread of COVID-19 – for many airlines, it’s a policy. Aboard a Spirit Airlines flight, one flyer found out the hard way what may happen when you start a physical confrontation over the issue. Airlive.net reports a passenger aboard the flight was ultimately tased by police after acting in what is described as a “aggressive, hostile and defiant behavior.”

Taser Deployed After Flyer Starts Hitting Another Passenger

According to the report, the incident on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, was brewing throughout the flight. Spirit Airlines Flight 2322, departing Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) for San Juan Airport (SJU) had two unruly passengers aboard – a male moving about the plane who wouldn’t wear a face covering, and three female accomplices who equally disregarded the rules. Witnesses say the flight attendants asked the group to stop moving about the cabin, especially when the seatbelt sign was on.

Upon arrival at SJU, a confrontation happened between the group and one of the other passengers. As a result, one of the women started throwing punches, before police boarded. When they went back to make a second attack, one of the police officers deployed a stun gun to stop the flyer.

Reports say the passenger was arrested on the aircraft, and was expected to spend at least one night in jail. Spirit Airlines has not publicly commented on the incident.

Airlines Continue to Fight with Face Mask Non-Compliance

Although not agreeing to wear a face covering can get flyers removed from aircraft and get banned from airlines, there are still those who refuse to agree with the rules. Airlines have been forced to ban over 700 people for not complying with the rules, while the government refuses to make an official face covering rule.

Meanwhile, airline employees are reportedly frustrated by the lack of action. Without federal regulations, some say that their powers to enforce the rules are extremely limited.

Feature Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash