Karen refuses to wear mask on flight, nearly forcing everyone to de-plane

A woman’s refusal to wear a mask on a flight resulted in the entire plane nearly being forced to de-board.

In a recent video shared to TikTok and Reddit, the woman can be seen, maskless, as one of the flight attendant’s voices comes over the intercom. “We do apologize for the inconvenience,” his voice intones. “But we’re going to need to de-plane the entire aircraft and then re-board.”

The other passengers erupt into calls of irritation and anger as the flight attendant apologizes a second time. As the video begins, a fellow passenger is clearly reminding the maskless woman that she signed a notice agreeing to the airline’s rules, including a mask requirement. Every domestic airline currently requires masks for its crew members and passengers.

It was already too late. The woman’s outright refusal to follow the rules she’d already agreed to ends up impacting everyone’s trip. As noted by several commenters, the process of de-planing and re-boarding typically takes an hour on many flights. For passengers heading to important events, as well as for those with layovers, the delay could cost valuable time.

When the flight attendant announces the requirement to de-plane, Karen is finally spurred to stand and begin gathering her things. Her sudden willingness to comply with the airline’s orders appears to be too little, too late. The rest of the passengers are forced to begin gathering their things to exit the plane.

“Imagine ruining a flight for everyone bc you don’t wanna wear a mask for a few hours,” one commenter noted. “How old are we now???? Sheesh. Embarrassing.”

Thankfully, the TikTok from user @gardnerphotography1_ appears to note that the other passengers were not ultimately forced to de-plane. The caption for the video states that “they were gonna make the entire plane get off because of her and then she ended up being kicked off.”

The video ends as Karen—who has a mask clutched in one hand—waits to exit the plane. She seems thoroughly embarrassed by the condemning looks her fellow passengers throw her way.

Commenters on both the Reddit post and the TikTok noted that Karen’s removal from the plane could cost her. The fees and charges that go along with violating a signed agreement can be steep.