In yet another incident involving passengers who refused to wear their masks as mandated by major airlines, a fist fight reportedly broke out in the cabin aisle aboard Spirit Airlines flight NK2322 on October 26 at around 7:00 p.m. A fellow flyer captured the scene on video and later posted it to social media.
The flight had originated in Newark, New Jersey, and was bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican police who were called to break up the brawl, which seems to have escalated into all-out fisticuffs when the plane landed at San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin airport.
A female passenger, identified by police as Nyasy Veronique Payne, “provoked an incident by acting in what witnesses called an aggressive, hostile and defiant behavior,” according to AirLive.
The conflict began when Payne refused to wear a mask onboard in keeping with Spirit Airlines’ protocol, inviting pushback from other flyers concerned about their own safety.
In the end, she reportedly struck a 28-year-old fellow flyer named Javier Lopez Cruz, as can be seen in the video.
She wound up getting tased by the Puerto Rican police, who were otherwise having trouble subduing her, was arrested and spent the night in jail.
According to reports, an unidentified young man and three women who were traveling with him also failed to wear their masks during the majority of the flight and repeatedly moved about the cabin, even while the seatbelt sign was lit. Flight attendants had instructed the group to stay seated and wear their masks, to no avail.
