John Garcia Jr. said it all started because of a hoodie he said he had worn on several flights before. The airline said they are investigating the incident.
SAN ANTONIO — Spirit Airlines is looking into a video circulating on Facebook showing a San Antonio man being kicked off a flight from Los Angeles to San Antonio Monday.
John Garcia Jr. said the incident all started because of a hoodie he said he had worn on several flights before. It has “FVCK HATE WORLD TOUR” printed on the front and back of the hoodie. He said he got the hoodie from a friend who sells different designs online.
“It’s anti-hate,” Garcia said. “It was just unique to me.”
Garcia said right as he was boarding his flight in LA, a flight attendant questioned if he was in the right seat. Then a minute later, approached him again to tell him to take his hoodie off.
“I’m like, are you serious?” Garcia said.
He said he did argue back and questioned if his hoodie was against policy or not. A few minutes later, he was approached by a different spirit employee and security guard. He said they demanded he take the hoodie off or he would have to get off the plane.
“He’s just like let’s just get you from point a to point B and I’m like man, that’s all I’m trying to do,” Garcia said.
He said right as he took the hoodie off, a stranger began filming. He said in that moment, the employee told him he can file a complaint online if he wants.
“Of course, if I’m going to file a complaint, I need names so I tell him, well I need all three of y’all’s name and that’s when you can see him say get him off get him off,” Garcia said.
Garcia said at that point, he knew he was not going to be able to stay on the flight so he got up, put on his sweatshirt and got off the plane.
“What I’m saying is why did he kick me off? Just because I asked for his name which is ultimately going to have to be given during a complaint,” Garcia said.
According to Spirit Airline’s contract of carriage, a passenger could be asked to leave the plane if their clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive in nature.
A spokesperson for Spirit Airline released this statement: “We want all our Guests to feel welcome and have a great experience while traveling with us. We are aware of the video, and our team is investigating.“
Garcia said he eventually made it to San Antonio with a different flight with Spirit Airlines. He said he filed a formal complaint and should hear back from the airline by tomorrow.