Ali Cleek, a mother of a two-year-old, was left shocked after flight attendants of Southwest Airlines instructed her to glue the mask to her crying toddler mid-air. The Virginia mother took to Instagram to share her ordeal.
Recently, the Southwest Airlines hit the spotlight after its crew members duct-taped the unruly passengers to their seats in two separate incidents.
Crew Members Offered Cleek Two Options
The unfortunate incident occurred on a Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando to Norfolk on August 12. In an Instagram post, Cleek stated that she was travelling with her husband and two kids, aged four and two.
Stating that her entire family, except for two-year-old Drew, were wearing the masks on the flight, Cleek said that Drew, who is a thumb sucker, started crying after boarding the flight and was not ready to put on the face mask.
"We boarded our @southwestair flight home (that was 1.5 hours late) with NO AC in Florida when my two year started crying and would not keep on her mask. Drew is a thumb sucker and her only way she biologically knows how to soothe herself is by sucking her thumb which is damn near impossible with a mask," wrote Cleek.
Despite several attempts by Cleek and her husband to try making Drew wear her mask, the toddler just kept on crying and refusing. "Well two flight attendants stood over me watching as we held her down and tried to get her to wear it. Lots of tears from Drew and I. And then it happened... the flight attendant told me two things. 1. We could cut a hole in it (her sarcasm was absolutely ridiculous and infuriating). OR 2. We could GLUE IT TO HER FACE," she revealed.
Shocked Mother Demands Human Decency, Compassion
In the latter part of the post, admitting that the incident left her shaken, Cleek said that even though she is aware that wearing a mask is the federal mandate, "at some point we have to have human decency. Compassion."
Speaking to Fox News, Cleek said that the Airlines' customer service called her for an apology. "They said they would essentially talk to the flight crew," she said. "I know I never want another parent to be in tears on an airplane because their 2-year-old won't wear a mask. I really don't want parents to feel like they have to hold down their child to put on a mask. I also don't want to feel like I can't travel with my kids by plane," she told the outlet.
The incident drew widespread criticism on social media. "A mother claimed a Southwest airlines attendant told her to "glue" her mask to her crying child's face. That attendant is a TWUNT!" tweeted a user.
"Those flight attendant's find ways to fuck with people because the Fed's and the police got their backs,so they nit pick at passengers," said another.
