Family 'Kicked off' flight over birthday cake



Airline maltreatment of their passengers for one reason or the other are on the rise, first it was the David Dao Versus United Airline case which generated a lot of media attention and bad publicity for the airline, amongst a few other airline demonstrating bad customer service and getting sued in the process.

A family have claimed they were kicked off a flight because they brought a birthday cake onto the plane.
The Burke family who were due to fly from New York to Las Vegas from John F Kennedy Airport with JetBlue on May 3 and had brought a buttercream cake with them on the journey, were told to leave their seats over the issue of where to store their cake.

Cameron Burke took video footage of the incident.

The video  started with his son, seven-year-old Cameron Jr, crying and the family confirming that the cake is now on the floor.

It ended with a Port Authority officer telling them they must rebook their flights.

The boy and his sister, nine, appeared scared throughout the incident, while Cameron’s wife, Minta, was seen wearing a flashing “It’s my birthday” tiara.

Mr Burke said that the cake had first been placed in the overhead locker but that a flight attendant had asked them “nicely” to move it.

He said he was told to store the cake underneath the seat in front of him which he did but then a second attendant intervened and began gesturing about where to put the cake.

Mr Burke told ABC7 News, who obtained the video footage, "I had approached them, and I said everything was fine, and she said, 'Sir, this does not involve you.'

"When she told me I had been non-compliant, then I said 'Ma'am, had you been drinking?' Because her behaviour was not normal."

The airline disputed the passengers' account and said that the removal of the family was justified because their "behaviour demonstrated a risk for additional escalation in air".

In a statement, the airline reportedly said "the customers became agitated, cursed and yelled at the crew, and made false accusations about a crewmember's fitness to fly". They also "refused to speak with a team leader about the situation”.

Shortly after this, the airline said it called in the Port Authority Police Department and all the passengers on the plane were asked to get off.

Mr Burke told the New York Daily News that the trip had been planned as a surprise for Minta’s 40th birthday. The plan had been to fly to Las Vegas and meet up with relatives.

The family's tickets and reward points were refunded by the airline and Burke managed to book a United Airlines flight for Las Vegas the next day. All the other passengers reboarded for the flight to Vegas.



The video of the incident is the latest from an air passenger claiming to have been mistreated to have gone viral.
Family 'Kicked off' flight over birthday cake Family 'Kicked off'  flight over birthday cake Reviewed by Unknown on May 16, 2017 Rating: 5

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