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JetBlue Kicks NJ Family Off Flight Over Birthday Cake

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 03:30 PST, May 14, 2017

One New Jersey family was recently kicked off a JetBlue flight over a birthday cake.

According to ABC 7, Minta Burke, her husband Cameron, and their two kids were on a flight from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City to Las Vegas last week when an incident arose over a birthday cake Cameron had packed for his wife’s 40th birthday. Cameron had reportedly stored the cake in the overhead bin above his seat, but was later told it needed to be moved. He complied with the flight attendant’s request, and placed the cake under his seat. The family thought the issue was over with, but it continued to escalate when a second flight attendant confronted the first, asking what was going on.

“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 recalled.

Apparently, this infuriated the flight attendant, and the police at JFK Airport were called onto the plane, which was when Cameron deciding to start filming on his cell phone. In the video, the parent’s two young children can be heard getting increasingly more upset by the minute. Cameron tells his son he is sorry, while his daughter shares how scared she is. The police officer can then be heard assuring Cameron that he had done nothing wrong and that everyone was going to be okay, but they would have to rebook every passenger on the flight.

“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,” Minta said.

You can watch the video in the tweet below.

The other passengers were eventually able to re-board the flight, but the Burkes’ were told they would have to leave the JetBlue area after they were refunded their tickets and reward points.

“The passengers were very understanding,” Cameron said. “They knew that this was a strange situation.”

“It’s just crazy. I’m surprised. I’m surprised. I thought highly of JetBlue before,” Minta added.

JetBlue later released a statement, claiming Cameron was non-compliant when he was asked to move the cake, and was rude to the flight attendants.

“[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,” JetBlue said in the statement. “After the customers refused to speak with a team leader about the situation, the Port Authority Police Department was called and the entire aircraft deplaned.”

Luckily, the family was able to get a flight out the next day on United Airlines. Cameron told the New York Daily News that he plans on filing a lawsuit against JetBlue, and he hopes they fire the flight attendant responsible.

“I want the flight attendant fired, she has no business serving the public,” he said. “I hope JetBlue will retrain their staff and recreate the culture I once loved.”

Do you think JetBlue should have removed the Burke family? Leave your comments below.

[Featured Image by Markus Mainka/Shutterstock]

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