With all the stuff going on with airlines the last few weeks, this one is a new low. A family from New Jersey claims they were kicked off a Jet Blue flight for bringing a birthday cake on board. The family was traveling to Las Vegas as a surprise for Minta Burke's birthday, the mom of the family. As a part of the surprise, they brought a cake on board. Minta told ABC 7 News:
"We were just so happy. Couldn't wait to get to Las Vegas, and all of a sudden this occurred, and my two children are screaming, crying. They're confused not knowing what's going on - they were traumatized."
Below is a video of part of the altercation:
According to ABC 7:
The violation that JetBlue claimed caused a security risk? A birthday cake, initially stored in the overhead bin. A flight attendant told Cameron, the father of the family, he had to move it. He moved the cake, and placed it under the seat. They say the situation escalated when a second flight attendant confronted the first flight attendant, and whatever was going on between them, he says, wasn't pretty.
"You know, you could see the gestures - then she was pointing to her, did you tell him he couldn't put anything in the overhead compartment? 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 behavior was not normal," Cameron says.
Eventually police at JFK Airport were brought on board. Then, an announcement was made saying everyone had to get off. Passengers were clearly seen taking the Burke family's side.
JetBlue released a statement saying, "(The customer) refused multiple requests from the crew to remove the items... became agitated, cursed and yelled at the crew, and made false accusations about a crewmember's fitness to fly."
Cameron says he never cursed or raised his voice. He says at no point was his family told why they were being kicked off the plane. In fact, they were immediately refunded at the terminal, no questions asked, so they say it all doesn't seem to add up.