A New Jersey man dutifully wore a mask when he recently boarded a United flight to Florida — but was booted because the full-face contraption violated the airline’s policy, according to a report.
On Jan. 23, Mahwah native Rob Joseph and his brother arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport wearing Narwall masks — scuba-inspired devices named after the narwhal, a medium-size toothed whale, NorthJersey.com reported.
But they were surprised when airline employees told them to replace them with cloth coverings because the masks did not follow company guidelines — or they would not be allowed to fly.
“Is it goofy? Absolutely. Is it something you want to be seen in public? Not exactly,” Joseph, whose company is helping with security at the Super Bowl in Florida, told the news outlet.
“But to have that peace of mind for me and my family, I’m willing to take some stares to get down there safely,” added Joseph, who said he wanted to wear the $85 Narwall to protect himself on his first flight since March.
Joseph and his brother, who were handed surgical masks, tried to make their case to keep their high-tech devices on by handing gate employees information cards about how they worked, NorthJersey.com reported.
They eventually acquiesced and strapped surgical masks over the Narwalls’ exterior, but they faced more resistance when a flight attendant stopped them from boarding.
Joseph said he pulled up United’s mask policy on his phone and showed it to the flight attendant, who ultimately kicked him and his brother off the flight when they refused to remove their devices — despite TSA workers clearing them earlier.
Nope, sorry, too much protection is not allowed.
Only the beginning. Rules are rules. Dont like them, dont par take.