Family 'Kicked Off' A Plane For Bringing On A Birthday Cake

A family have claimed they were thrown off a flight because they brought a birthday cake onto the plane. The Burke family were due to fly from New York to Las Vegas from John F Kennedy Airport with JetBlue on May 3 and had brought a buttercream cake with them on the journey.

But they ended up being told to leave their seats, following a discussion with flight attendants about where to store the cake.

 

Cameron Burke took video footage of the incident.

It starts with his son, seven-year-old Cameron Jr, crying and the family confirming that the cake is now on the floor. It ends with a Port Authority officer telling them they must re-book their flights.

The boy and his sister, nine, appear scared throughout the incident, while Cameron’s wife, Minta, is seen wearing a flashing “It’s my birthday” tiara.

Mr Burke said that the cake had first been placed in the overhead locker but that a flight attendant had asked them “nicely” to move it. He said he was told to store the cake underneath the seat in front of him which he did but then a second attendant intervened and began gesturing about where to put the cake.

The airline disputed the passengers' account and said that the removal of the family was justified because their "behaviour demonstrated a risk for additional escalation in air".

In a statement, the airline reportedly said "the customers became agitated, cursed and yelled at the crew, and made false accusations about a crew-member's fitness to fly". They also "refused to speak with a team leader about the situation”.

Shortly after this, the airline said it called in the Port Authority Police Department and all the passengers on the plane were asked to get off.

Mr Burke told the New York Daily News that the trip had been planned as a surprise for Minta’s 40th birthday. The plan had been to fly to Las Vegas and meet up with relatives.

 

The family's tickets and reward points were refunded by the airline and Burke managed to book a United Airlines flight for Las Vegas the next day. All the other passengers re-boarded for the flight to Vegas.