NH Woman Kicked Off JetBlue Flight For Tweeting About Pilot's Sobriety Test
BOSTON (CBS) - A New Hampshire woman believes her tweets about an incident at the Philadelphia airport got her booted from a flight.
Lisa Carter of Exeter was booked on JetBlue Flight #760 to Logan at 8:30 Tuesday night. But it was delayed several hours after another passenger accused the pilot of being intoxicated.
JetBlue says the pilot submitted to a sobriety test which he passed. Carter tweeted and posted photos of what she witnessed at the gate.
Carter says she turned to social media because she thought the incident was newsworthy, and she also wanted to keep her friends and family informed about her flight status.
But soon after the flight was cleared to board, Carter says she was denied access.
"I was told, that the pilot requested that I not be on the flight…so I requested to be re-booked and he said in fact mam, we're denying you service."
Carter was stranded at the Philadelphia Airport in the middle of the night. She eventually got a flight the next day on another airline.
Jet Blue in a statement said:
"We will remove a customer if they are disruptive and the crew evaluates that there is a risk of escalation which could lead to an unsafe environment. The decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly. If we feel a customer is not complying with safety instructions, exhibits objectionable behavior or causes conflict at the gate or on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane or will be denied boarding especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of accelerating in the air."
Carter was given a refund but Carter really wants an explanation.
"Last night, I was a single female at the Philadelphia airport at midnight by myself. JetBlue never asked if I had transportation, accommodations and did not offer to book me another flight… My civil rights and my freedom of speech were taken last night."
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