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In reply to the discussion: American Airlines cancels flight after teens refuse to wear masks [View all]cab67
(3,010 posts)If my flight got cancelled because a group of selfish people (regardless of age) decided to pull a stunt like this, I'd be pretty hacked off - especially if I was headed to a funeral, a job interview, a wedding, or anything else like that.
For what it's worth, having a group like this chaperoned doesn't always make a difference -
I was once on a transatlantic flight from Europe that was almost cancelled because of a group of teenagers. They were American teens presumably on their way back to the US after some sort of group trip, and they were very, very excited. They simply wouldn't shut up, and none of them seems to have ever learned what an "indoor voice" is.
Before we boarded, I personally asked their chaperone (teacher?) if she could get them to cool off. I'm hearing-impaired, and their noise made it impossible for me to hear announcements. (I would imagine even passengers with full hearing also found it difficult.) She mumbled something about how kids are going to be kids, but that she'd try. If she did, it made no impact.
(For the record - I know teens get excited when they travel. I was once such a teen. Heck, I still get excited, depending on where I'm going. But excitement crosses a line when it interferes with other passengers' efforts to hear announcements or sleep on the plane.)
We were allowed to proceed only because the chaperone assured the gate agents and flight attendants that the teens would behave once they got on the plane.
That lasted until a few minutes after takeoff. To this good day, I don't know why the plane wasn't diverted so these passengers could be taken off.
And the punch line? They were all seated toward the back of the plane (a Boeing 777, IIRC) and were facing a tight connection - so once we landed, their chaperone asked them, loudly enough for the rest of us to hear, to "start working your way forward." The chaperone was literally telling them to start cutting in front of other passengers, many of whom (including me) also had tight connections.
The teens started to do this, but they didn't get far. No one on the plane seemed inclined to make way for them.
No idea if they made their connection.
I really, really hope they didn't behave like that in Europe.
Had the flight been cancelled or delayed because of this poorly-led group, I'd have done something to hold them and ESPECIALLY their chaperone accountable.