A JetBlue passenger has been kicked off a plane after he accosted Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of President-elect Donald Trump.
“Your father is ruining the country,” the man shouted as the aircraft prepared for departure from JFK airport in New York, a passenger told TMZ.
Witnesses said Ivanka Trump ignored the man and distracted her children with toys.
JetBlue airlines said in a statement that “the decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly”.
Image source Flickr
The statement continued: “If the crew determines that a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight.”
Shortly before the Palm Beach, Florida-bound flight’s departure, a New York university professor tweeted that Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were aboard the plane “flying commercial”.
“My husband chasing them down to harass them,” Matthew Lasner tweeted.
According to TMZ, Matthew Lasner’s partner, Dan Goldstein, shouted: “Why is she on our flight? She should be flying private.”
However, Matthew Lasner tweeted: “My husband expressed displeasure in a calm tone, JetBlue staff overheard, and they kicked us off the plane.”
JetBlue’s statement added that its “team worked to re-accommodate the party on the next available flight”.
Palm Beach is home to Ivanka Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where he plans to spend the coming holiday season with his family.
JetBlue Flight 387 has become the first US commercial flight to land in Cuba after more than half a century.
The plane had 150 passengers, including US transport secretary Anthony Foxx.
The aircraft took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 09:45 EDT and landed in Santa Clara in central Cuba about an hour later.
The flight marks the latest development between US and Cuba since they restored diplomatic ties in December 2014.
The last time an American airline flew scheduled service to Cuba was in 1961 on a propeller plane, according to Marty St George, the executive vice president of JetBlue.
Photo Getty Images
To commemorate the occasion, the plane received a water cannon salute, which traditionally marks a special occasion for a ship or aircraft.
Since the US thawed relations with Cuba, embassies have been re-opened in Washington and Havana, President Barack Obama visited the island and a US cruise ship sailed to the country in May.
The Obama administration has approved 10 US-based airlines for regular passenger jet service to Cuba, offering as many as 110 daily flights.
The approved airlines include: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country and United Airlines.
Tourism to Cuba is still banned in the US, but the Obama administration eased rules last year to make it easier for Americans to access the long-isolated nation under 12 categories of “authorized travel”.
Clayton Osbon, the US pilot who screamed about a bomb on a flight and had to be restrained by passengers was found not guilty for reasons of insanity, a court has said.
A judge in Amarillo, Texas, said JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon suffered “severe mental disease or defect”.
Clayton Osbon was previously ruled competent enough to stand trial. He is to be re-evaluated before a hearing on 6 August to decide whether he can be released.
He was charged with interfering with crew on a New York-Las Vegas flight.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing after Clayton Osbon’s actions on 27 March.
A judge in Amarillo, Texas, said JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon suffered "severe mental disease or defect"
Passengers said they had to wrestle the pilot to the floor during the flight after he began screaming about a bomb and terrorists.
At the time, JetBlue had said there was nothing in the pilot’s records that suggested he might be a risk.
Court records say Clayton Osbon must show “by clear and convincing evidence” that, if released, he would not pose any future danger. The judge could decide to commit him to a mental health facility.
A JetBlue spokeswoman said the airline still employs Clayton Osbon but he is on “inactive status”, adding that the company was still offering support to the pilot’s family.
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