Passenger Blacklisted by Tui Fly After Questioning Mask Policy on Flight to Malaga

In Brussels, Amina boards a Tui Fly plane on July 7, heading to Malaga. The attitude of a passenger puzzles her. The latter did not wear her protective mask required of passengers in these Covid-19 times. "She was taking selfies with her friend. [...] When I asked the flight attendant, she told me that the passenger had a headache with the mask, which is why she refused to wear it. I then pointed out to the flight attendant that this was all the more worrying since a headache is a potential symptom of coronavirus," recounts to La Capitale Amina, an entrepreneur with a master’s degree in public health from ULB.

The situation quickly escalates. "At one point, the one who wasn’t wearing her mask put her hand on my face and pushed me back," she confides. At the request of the entrepreneur, the woman who assaulted her was moved. Upon arrival on Spanish soil, the police inform her that Tui Fly had filed a complaint against her. Amina thought her troubles were over.

While she went to check in at the airport after the end of her vacation in Malaga, the airline notifies her of the following: "You disrupted order and discipline on board, specifically that you were physically aggressive [...] Given the seriousness of the situation, Tui Fly is no longer willing to board you on our flights for a period of three months." No return flight for Amina. She then decides to return with Ryanair. Upon arrival, she filed a complaint at the Watermael-Boitsfort police station.

The company gives its version of the facts. "She [the passenger] removed her mask to take her aspirin. [Amina] was not very comfortable with the fact that this lady was removing her mask. She thought it were the symptoms of Covid-19," says Sarah Saucin, spokesperson for the airline. "The two ladies came to blows. The captain had to call the police on arrival. In cases of violence on board, the passengers concerned are blacklisted for a period of three months. The two passengers were therefore blacklisted. This is the procedure," she explains. A version contradicted by other passengers.