A large Utah family is livid after they were kicked off of a flight for violating American Airlines' mask policy. Scott Wilson told KSL-TV that he was boarding a flight with his family from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Dallas, Texas, when his mask slipped below his nose.

"I didn't really see who it was, but somebody said, 'Hey, you know, keep your mask up,'" Wilson told the news station. "I dropped everything and moved it up, picked up my stuff, and made our way to the back of the plane."

Shortly after Wilson found his seat, he was approached by a flight attendant who told him that he and his entire family had to leave. Wilson said his family included ten adults and ten children, who were between the ages of 3 and 13.

While Wilson argued with the flight attendant and the gate agent, other passengers stepped in to defend the family, who were all wearing their masks.

"There was actually a couple families around us that stood up and was like, 'This is wrong, that guy is being a jerk.' He was yelling at other people as they came on, too, and he was already mad at these guys. They didn't do anything," Wilson said.

Even other gate agents at the airport supported the family and felt they were being treated unfairly.

"They were livid," Wilson said. "They were mad at this guy and said, 'He is the one with the problem. You guys did nothing wrong. We've never seen anything like this. We've never had a situation like this, and he was totally in the wrong by doing what he did.'"

Eventually, the family agreed to leave the plane and was rebooked on separate flights.

American Airlines confirmed the incident and issued a statement saying the family was removed for violating its policy on mandatory face coverings.

Per procedure, the customers involved were asked to exit the aircraft before departure, and the flight departed for DFW shortly after, the airline said in a statement to KSL-TV. "American, like other U.S. airlines, began requiring customers to wear a face-covering while on board aircraft beginning May 11."

Photo: Getty Images

Dan Holzman

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