Mum left 'hysterical' after being carried off Heathrow plane and threatened with FLIGHT BAN as her son, 2, did not wear a mask

A mum was left in tears when her family was carried off a plane at Heathrow Airport because her two-year-old son was not wearing a mask.

Angie Artis said she and her husband Darien were then threatened with a FLIGHT BAN by American Airlines staff, all because little Mason was struggling to keep his mask on.

The family had traveled from their hometown of North Carolina in the United States to Santorini, Greece, via the United Kingdom, for their wedding.

The nuptials have been canceled twice due to lockdown restrictions.

She said there was no problem with Mason not wearing a mask on the ride, who was also with American Airlines.

Angie, 32, told The Sun: 'He had his mask on but he just wasn't keeping it on.

"It's so silly. He's two years old so he can't really breathe in a mask on a nine-hour flight."

Angie said a flight attendant even joked with her about how the youngster was playing with his mask.

She said: "We were laughing about it, just like 'Oh my God'."

And two other flight attendants fussed over cute little Mason as passengers boarded the plane, giving him a lollipop and a kiss on the cheek, the mum said.

Angie told how she 'got the feeling' from staff on the flight that the issue was 'nothing to worry about'.

But then they were approached by another flight attendant, named Karen.

She said: 'She came up to us and pointed at my son and angrily said 'He has to put something on, or he has to go'

"I was in shock, I looked at my husband like 'Did this just happen?'

"Another person said, 'Really, a baby?'"

Fearing more aggro, the mother asked her husband to discreetly film in case the stewardess returned.

“About ten minutes later the stewardess comes back,” Angie said.

She explained: “Before she even speaks, I explain that we didn't have the problem before, he's a baby, he's two years old – we have a mask and we wanted to work with them.

“Then she sees my husband with the camera, she slaps the camera and the phone hits my husband in the face.”

'THIS IS SO silly'

Angie said the attendant 'slammed' Darien's phone in his face, before running off to speak to the pilot.

She said: 'The pilot came on the intercom and said 'We're going to have to turn around because someone on this plane is not respecting wearing a mask'.

"It's a baby."

Angie and Darien were then asked to leave the jet where two staff members then told them they could face a flight ban.

The family, who are black, said there was another family on the plane with a young child who was right and had not been asked to wear a mask.

Angie said she raised this issue with staff but was repeatedly ignored.

She said: 'I was mortified because we were singled out and discriminated against, not because of the mask, but because she didn't like the fact that we were on that plane.

"We were the only black people on the whole plane."

The family spent the night in a hotel paid for by American Airlines and were booked for a flight the next day.

An American Airlines spokesperson said: “On October 18, American Airlines Flight 733 returned to the gate prior to departure from London Heathrow (LHR) to disembark a party that did not meet the face mask requirement .

“After agreeing to comply with the face mask requirement, all people were booked on the next flight to Charlotte (CLT) the following day.

“We are looking into this incident and a member of our team has been in contact with customers to find out more about what happened.”

Heathrow Airport has been contacted for comment.