Plane's Ventilation System, Not Students, Are to Blame for Bahamas Flight Delay: Organizer

An American Airlines flight heading to the Bahamas was delayed almost 24 hours on Monday, and the airline made it clear at the time that a large group of "unruly" high school graduates was to blame.

However, Breakaway Beach, the tour company that organized the students' trip, said in a recent report American Airlines wrongfully punished the group of teens for what appears now to have been just one student's behavior and a mechanical issue,

On Monday, American Airlines Flight 893 to the Bahamas was drastically delayed due to what the airline initially said was a group of about 47 graduates. According to The Boston Globe, American Airlines said that the group refused to comply with federal face mask requirements, left their assigned seats, played loud music, shouted foul language, and repeatedly ignored the requests of the flight crew.

The group's removal from the flight, the statement said, was the cause of multiple additional delays, as the airline had to remove their bags from the plane and bring in a new flight crew as personnel reached the end of their shifts.

According to Eugene Winer, president of Breakaway Beach, the plane actually had a mechanical issue, in which its ventilation system was not working. Winer wrote in a statement to the Globe, "During this time some passengers, including the students, may have removed masks due to the no air-conditioning/ventilation, quite unbearable conditions."

The airline told Newsweek in an earlier report that the group of more than 30 Boston-area high schoolers was reminded of the policy multiple times by crew members on the plane.

However, according to Winer, the complaint that the entire group was ignorantly ignoring mask mandates was not true.

"One passenger was officially escorted off of the aircraft but was not ticketed or charged with an offense," he said to the Globe.

"The actions of this passenger resulted in the entire group of graduates being labeled 'unruly' and 'disruptive.' Breakaway was told [by American Airlines] that the actions of one individual were the responsibility of the entire group," Winer added.

Winer wrote American Airlines had initially refused to let the students continue the flight, which was further delayed because a pilot was not immediately available to replace one who had attained the maximum hours he could fly.

The airline allowed the students to get back on the plane, but the flight could not leave until Tuesday morning when another pilot would be made available, Winer wrote.

Winer and the parents of the 47 students were equally disappointed in the way the airline handled the situation. "The act of one individual is not the responsibility of others, and the students that were abiding by the rules should not have had to endure this type of treatment," Winer said.

One parent, who said she was Facetiming her daughter during the debacle, told the Globe, "American [Airlines] is using our kids as scapegoats. For all I know, that second plane also had a mechanical issue. ... There's something more to this, and our kids are just easy targets."

Newsweek reached out to American Airlines for further comment but did not hear back in time for publication.