Philip Ndifon SouthWest Airlines Black Trump supporter kicked off flight for removing mask to eat. A case of discrimination of race or political ideologue? Video shot by KrisAnne Hall.
Viral video has surfaced showing a black man wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ mask being kicked off a Southwest Airlines after lowering it to eat a snack.
The passenger — since identified as Philip Ndifon of Tampa, Florida — who was also sporting a ‘Black Voices for Trump’ hat — is seen talking to a crew member while holding a bag of mixed nuts and wearing a face mask under his chin.
‘Tell us the policy that says he cannot eat with his mask off?’ KrisAnne Hall, a conservative activist and lawyer who filming the video is heard asking in the footage. ‘It’s the hat and the mask — it’s not the eating.’
A second video then shows the man leaving the Tuesday morning Tampa-to-Dallas flight.
The incident — which Southwest said came after the man repeatedly refused to wear a mask — was soon tweeted by Donald Trump Jr., who condemned the airline.
BREAKING: @SouthwestAir flight attendant ejects passenger wearing ‘Black Voices for Trump’ cap for lowering his Trump face mask to eat nuts. pic.twitter.com/ac9tomJdLu
— SV News🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) October 13, 2020
‘I have never experienced such targeting by a Southwest employee.’
‘WTF??? This is disgusting. I’ve been on a thousand flights in the last few months and everyone lowers their masks to eat and drink. I did it on a southwest flight earlier this week,’ the president’s eldest son posted.
Told Hall who filmed the incident via Newsweek: ‘the flight attendant seemed to single out Philip from the moment we boarded.’
‘Philip was a complete gentleman and complied with all their requests and policies,’
‘I have been flying Southwest regularly for over a decade.
‘I have never experienced such targeting by a Southwest employee.’
Adding: ‘They usually have great customer service. But today this attendant refused [to] impartially apply [the] policy [and] made up an excuse to have Philip removed from the plane.
‘The supervisor ignored the other customers when they said Philip was following the policies and took him off the plane.’
Failed to comply with protocol?
But a rep for Southwest Airlines insists the ejection came after multiple employees asked the Trump supporter to wear a face covering, according to the Washington Examiner.
‘Our reports indicate that a Customer traveling on Flight 2632, with scheduled service from Tampa to Dallas, was asked repeatedly by more than one employee at different times to wear a face mask. The customer did not comply with our crew’s multiple verbal requests — including while boarding the flight before seated,’ the company rep said.
He was removed from the flight and placed on another one, the rep said.
‘The decision was made to return to the gate and re-accommodate him on a later flight to his final destination after receiving assurances he would comply with our face-covering policy. We regret the inconvenience the situation created for all involved, but our crew must uphold the well-being and comfort of all Passengers.’
‘we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.’
Southwest like most airlines requires all passengers age 2 and older to wear face coverings on flights to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
The spokesperson added: ‘It’s understandable that anyone would briefly remove a face covering to eat, drink, or take medicine. This particular issue was solely centered around our face covering policy and the lack of compliance by this customer.
‘Southwest Airlines employees welcome onboard millions of customers every year, with a goal of treating each one with respect, kindness, and fairness – delivering our world-class warmth and hospitality. And, we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.’
