Lufthansa Removes Masked Passenger, Sparks Boycott

FRANKFURT- A report states that Lufthansa (LH) removed a passenger from a flight at an unspecified airport after crew members claimed his medical mask made them uncomfortable.

The incident, prompting calls to boycott Lufthansa, raised concerns for health-conscious travelers, especially those protecting immunocompromised family members.

The event echoed the 2017 United Airlines (UA) removal of Dr. David Dao at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), where a seated passenger faced forcible ejection. Lufthansa did not respond to inquiries about its policies on medical masks.

Photo: Lufthansa

Lufthansa Removes Masked Passenger

A passenger, traveling to visit his immunocompromised mother in an effort to keep her COVID-free, faced persistent harassment from Lufthansa (LH) crew over his medical mask during boarding.

Crew members aggressively questioned his reasons for wearing it, implying mental health issues, despite his requests to stop.

The passenger, asserting his professional judgment in choosing to wear a mask, remained seated and silent, but the captain intervened, stating the mask caused crew discomfort and threatened physical removal or rebooking.

The passenger refused rebooking, citing the additional 12–24 hours of travel and payment for the original flight.

After a lengthy discussion, police labeled the situation as “trespassing” but acknowledged the passenger’s lack of wrongdoing, silently agreeing with his suspicion that the fully booked flight’s overbooking motivated the removal.

The passenger noted a similar aggressive encounter with the Lufthansa crew over his mask years prior, indicating a pattern.

He later recognized the crew’s persistent questioning as a deliberate tactic to provoke a reaction, which he initially failed to counter strategically.

Photo: Clément Alloing

Similar United Airlines Incident

The case resembled the 2017 removal of Dr. David Dao, a 69-year-old dentist, from a United Airlines (UA) flight at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).

Dao suffered a broken nose and lost teeth when security dragged him off to accommodate four United personnel who arrived late at the gate. The media often misreported United’s (UA) rights to remove seated passengers for overbooking.

In both incidents, airlines exercised broad discretion under contracts of carriage, but removal of seated passengers typically requires disruption or danger, absent here, where the passenger complied except for mask-related pushback.

Lufthansa’s Contract of Carriage

Lufthansa’s (LH) 2025 Contract of Carriage allows refusal for reasons like safety threats or significant impact on others’ wellbeing, stating carriers may deny boarding if a passenger adversely affects safety, security, health, or wellbeing to a notable degree.

Crew claimed discomfort, but the contract focuses on passenger impact, not staff feelings.

No evidence showed the mask posed risks; the captain pinned removal on unease, not non-compliance or disruption, violating typical limits on seated passenger ejections.

Photo: By Julian Herzog, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39172725

Motivations Behind the Removal

Speculation arose that Lufthansa (LH) targeted the masked passenger due to overbooking, picking a fight to avoid compensation, especially since recent regulatory changes have increased costs for involuntary rebookings without ample compensation.

Another possibility is that a waitlisted VIP customer prompted the removal to accommodate a higher-priority traveler. Lufthansa may also view masked passengers as bad for business, signaling health risks, and avoid direct mask removal requests to prevent alienating others.

Concerns about health risks, like those raised in reports of unmasked firefighters sickened by wildfire smoke, may drive this aversion.

A regular Lufthansa customer attributed the crew’s hostility to cultural conformity preferences in Germany, viewing masks as non-standard.

Unlike Lufthansa’s aggressive approach, other carriers like Delta Air Lines (DL) have shown more reasonable responses to masked passengers, per traveler accounts.

The incident raises questions about whether airlines should accommodate crew discomfort over passengers’ personal health choices.

Recommendations for Masked Travelers

Passengers planning to wear medical masks should carry a doctor’s note proving the necessity and copies of the airline’s contract of carriage to challenge the crew by requesting specific violation citations.

Boycotting Lufthansa (LH), a code-sharing partner with United Airlines (UA), offers an alternative, given its lack of response to policy questions and apparent pattern of hostility toward masked travelers.

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