Woman Claims Flight Attendant Told Her to 'Glue' a Mask to Her Toddler's Face

Ali Cleek’s two-year-old daughter, Drew, was crying during a flight and wanted to calm herself by sucking her thumb when the flight attendant asked to glue the mask on the toddler’s face.

Many interesting stories happened on a plane, some of which were not so great, including a recent account from Ali Cleek.

Going on Instagram, Cleek shared her horrible experience flying with Southwest Airlines as a flight attendant rudely suggested ways for the mom’s toddler to keep her face mask on.

With her spouse and two kids, Cleek boarded the August 12 flight from Orlando to Norfolk, Virginia. During the trip, her two-year-old daughter Drew began crying and would not wear her face mask. She shared:

“Drew is a thumb sucker and her only way she biologically knows how to soothe herself is by sucking her thumb which is damn near impossible with a mask.”

According to Cleek, she and her husband handled the situation by holding Drew down and getting her to wear the mask. Meanwhile, two flight attendants stood beside them and watched.

Suddenly, the flight attendant rudely and sarcastically suggested to either “cut a hole in it” or glue the mask to Drew’s face, adding that she had glue on the plane.

Cleek clarified that she was not an anti-masker and followed the rules imposed regarding wearing face masks. However, she was doing everything for her two-year-old to comply while the flight attendant showed no compassion.

“I don’t like being this person. Wearing a mask is the federal mandate,” she said. “I get it. I respect it. But at some point, we have to have human decency.”

Southwest Airlines has since released a statement sharing the mask mandate for all passengers above the age of two to have face masks throughout the trip amidst the pandemic.

Two women forced passengers to rearrange their seats so that they could sit by the aisle.

Southwest ensures that customers know the rule by posting it on the website, sending pre-trip emails, and providing a health declaration form during check-in.

According to Cleek, the airline representative apologized and ensured that the matter would be discussed with the flight crew. Cleek said:

“I know I never want another parent to be in tears on an airplane because their two-year-old won’t wear a mask. I really don’t want parents to feel like they have to hold down their child to put on a mask [...].”

Recently, another commotion happened on board a plane when two women forced passengers to rearrange their seats so that they could sit by the aisle. The two ended up being a threat to the safety of other passengers and were asked to disembark the aircraft.

On the other hand, not every story on a plane goes viral for its negative content. Previously, a flight attendant was praised for being kind and building a friendly relationship with Garrison, an autistic boy who loves planes.