DENVER (KDVR) — More than seven million people have watched the emotional plea from Eliz Fulop on her Instagram page, as she explains with tears in her eyes why her family was kicked off a plane at Denver International Airport.
“We just got kicked off a flight because our 2-year-old would not wear a mask,” she says in the video.
She and her husband Erhard Orban and their daughter Edeline call Breckenridge Colorado home, and had a flight to New Jersey to see friends and family over the weekend.
Fulop says they fly United frequently, but did not review the company’s mask policy when it comes to children before boarding. This is the first time they’ve experienced a crew enforcing the policy, despite their toddler flying mask-less with them several times before.
“We’ve flown with our daughter four times, this was going to be the fourth during the pandemic,” Flop said.
The couple says the crew asked their daughter’s age upon boarding, and instructed that she needed to wear a mask, and provided one for the family, since they did not have one for her.
The edited video shows Fulop and Orban trying to put the mask on Edeline several times, but the toddler refuses. We don’t know how long United tried to work with the family or what options flight attendants gave them before escorting them off the plane.
Fulop says she started recording after hearing the pilot mention passengers were going to be removed from the flight. The family claims the United crew did not address them after they boarded, until one of the supervisors approached them in their seats, instructing them to leave.
“Humiliated,” Fulop said. “Very confused. Almost disgusted with myself for having to do that to my daughter.”
United sent a statement to the Problem Solvers saying :
“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.”
The World Health Organization says in general, children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks.
“It’s difficult to know what really took place,” said Metropolitan State University of Denver Aviation professor Jeffery Price, saying it’s hard to understand the interaction without context you can’t see in the video.
Price says parents should take time to research different airlines rules when it comes to mask mandates before booking your ticket, and take time to prepare your children for wearing masks on a flight.
“You know a two year old is not gonna process complex data, but you can do a little bit to turn it into a game and kind of stress it’s very important that you do this,” Price said.
Orban says the family is weighing all their options, and has received an outpouring of support from other families who have concerns about flying with young children. He says United is still investigating to see if any member of their family will be banned from the airline for non-compliance.
“So many parents can resonate, and it also made them afraid of how they’re going to travel this holiday,” Fulop said.