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Flight to Bahamas canceled after Winthrop teens reportedly refuse to wear masks

An American Airlines flight to the Bahamas was canceled Monday night because some among a group of high school students, reportedly from Winthrop, refused to wear their masks.

Flight 893 was ready to depart Charlotte, but a mechanical issue forced the passengers onto a different plane.

That’s when fellow passengers say some among the group of teens allegedly refused to put on masks, in accordance with CDC guidelines.

“I would not say all of them. I was 75% to 80% of them were being terrible kids, saying smart stuff,” one passenger said.

“All they had to do was put the mask on, sit there, no smart mouth comments. And they couldn’t do it,” another passenger said.

A Winthrop mother told WCVB that teens on the trip from her community did not know the teen without a mask. She said the Winthrop group also contends only one senior lowered his mask.

After hours of impasse, the flight to Nassau was canceled. None of the Winthrop students were arrested.

The flight cancellation forced other passengers — many of whom were on vacations — to rebook their trips.

Breakaway Beach, the business that said it organized the trip for the recent graduates, released a statement criticizing American Airlines. They said only “one or two” of the passengers acted in a way that led to their removal from the plane.

“The handling of this situation by American Airlines was incredibly disappointing – of course, safety is an absolute priority and any passenger not abiding by aviation rules and regulations must be removed from an aircraft,” the business wrote. “However, the act of one individual is not the responsibility of others, and the students that were abiding by the rules should not have had to endure this type of treatment. The group was treated in an improper and overly harsh manner, causing unnecessary stress and aggravation to the travelers and their parents from afar. Regardless, and perhaps especially because of their age, these students should have been treated in the exact same way as every other passenger and had lodging and meals provided.”

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