Jet Blue kicked a family off of a flight after they got into a dispute with flight attendants over a birthday cake.
The flight was traveling from JFK Airport in New York City to Las Vegas, and Cameron Burke, who shot video of the incident, said that he brought a specially-ordered cake as a carry-on item onto the plane. The cake was meant for his wife for her 40th birthday.
Burke then got in an argument with a flight attendant over whether the cake needed to be placed under the seat or in the overhead bin. A second attendant, who Burke described as the “mean” one, said that he was being “non-compliant” when he tried to calm things down after the second attendant said that the cake could not be brought on board at all.
At one point, Burke admitted, he asked the attendant, “Have you been drinking?” because he felt that she was being irrational over a small matter of a cake.
In the video, Burke’s children are seen visibly upset, especially when the police show up. Burke went with the police quietly, though Jet Blue had initially told ABC7, who first reported the story, that Burke had been yelling and cursing at the crew, a claim that Burke denies.
Burke and his family re-booked their flight on United and did not bring their cake. They are reportedly talking to lawyers about filing a lawsuit.
Jersey City family kicked off flight over a cake. @JetBlue says passenger was agitated/security risk. Video appears to tell different story. pic.twitter.com/q0zQzNbHoa
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) May 14, 2017