‘I just sat there silently crying into my mask’: Woman flying from New York to North Carolina is stunned to find she’s on a nearly full American Airlines flight and surrounded by passengers
- Erin Strine shared video of her packed American Airlines 338 flight on Saturday from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina
- She was stunned to find her flight nearly full and passengers and flight attendants failed to practice social distancing. Some didn’t wear masks
- Strine said she was scared for her health as she sat in a middle seat
- ‘I really felt like my life and the life of everyone around me was at risk,’ she said
- American Airlines says it’s working with the CDC on flight safety measures and is allowing employees to wear masks and gloves
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A North Carolina woman was stunned to find herself on a practically full flight from New York City to Charlotte over the weekend, despite coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Erin Strine shared video of her American Airlines Flight 388 on Saturday that was surprisingly nearly full with people.
Strine, whose grandmother had recently passed away, was traveling from Brooklyn to her hometown Chapel Hill to spend time with her family.
Strine said she was alarmed by how little social distancing was taking place on the packed flight. She expressed concern for her health when she realized she was placed in a middle seat.
‘I really felt like my life and the life of everyone around me was at risk,’ she said. ‘I just sat there silently crying into my mask because I was really overwhelmed by how unsafe I felt.’
Erin Strine shared video of her packed American Airlines 338 flight on Saturday from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina
She was stunned to find her flight nearly full and passengers and flight attendants failed to practice social distancing
Strine shared video footage showing the rows of seats in front and behind her packed with people traveling from New York City to Charlotte
She took video footage of the busy flight showing full seats with some passengers and a flight attendant wearing a mask.
She shared video of the flight on Twitter on Saturday saying: ‘Well silly me thinking that an airline would adhere to social distancing guidelines. Currently abroad a nearly full @AmericanAirlines flight and I’ve never felt less safe or cared for in my entire life.’
Her clip racked up over 354,000 views and sparked outrage against the company for failing to implement better safety measures.
‘This was a flight coming from the epicenter of the pandemic in the US,’ she said to WSOCTV.
‘I really felt like my life and the life of everyone around me was at risk. I just sat there silently crying into my mask because I was really overwhelmed by how unsafe I felt,’ Strine, pictured left and right, said
While passengers were unable to practice social distancing, many were seen with masks on board
‘I had people on both sides of me. Every row around me, next to me, behind me, were completely full,’ she added to WBTV.
‘They specifically said we would not be able to social distance and for everyone to take precautions for themselves, you know, if you need to cough or sneeze to turn your head,’ she added.
Strine said she was overwhelmed to the point of tears on the flight.
Strine said that if flights can’t fly at lower capacity to maintain social distancing then they ‘need to require everyone, for the safety of all the people around them, to wear masks.’
‘The safety of our customers and team members remains our top priority. We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials and will continue to coordinate with them on any required health and safety-related measures,’ American Airlines said in a statement following the video.
The airline said that it is taking measures including cleaning procedures to frequently-touched area of the plane, ensuring employees maintain distance from each other, and allowing employees to wear gloves or masks.
Strine says following the incident she’ll cancel her return flight to Brooklyn and will drive back to New York.