UPDATE: A video has emerged from the American Airlines plane showing the hair transplant passenger arguing with the police officer, refusing to get off the plane and eventually being led out in handcuffs.
A rowdy couple was kicked off an American Airlines plane in Miami for refusing to wipe off blood from a recent hair transplant. In my opinion, this whole situation was completely unnecessary and avoidable with a little forward planning.
Couple kicked off American Airlines flight because blood drips from head (after hair transplant)
As you can see in the mug shot above, 27-year-old Eugenio Ernesto Hernandez-Garnier was recovering from a recent hair transplant and attempting to fly home on American Airlines from Miami (MIA) to Las Vegas (LAS).
In this type of hair transplant, hair is pulled out one follicle at a time, usually from the back of the head, and transplanted to the front. It is a messy operation, but also a sophisticated art form. The result is a bloody head, sometimes for several days.
His head seemed to be dripping with blood and he was asked to clean it first and change his bandages. But he replied that he had no new bandages…
So American Airlines asked him to leave the plane, which he and his wife, 32-year-old Yusleydis Blanca Loyola, refused. His wife reportedly said, “If we can’t fly, no one else can.”
Police were called and entered the plane, ordering the couple to get off. When they refused, they were handcuffed and forced to leave the plane.
The disruption caused the flight to be delayed overnight…
American Airlines was not unreasonable here
As someone who fortunately did not lose the most I haven’t had to seriously consider such an operation yet (what a pity Prince William never did…), so I’m not sure why he couldn’t wear a hat or turban. Perhaps that’s not allowed in the immediate hours/days after surgery.
These types of surgeries are common in Turkey and every time I fly through Istanbul airport I see men who look like this… and who aren’t wearing any head coverings either.
But I live in a vain LaLa land and I know many people who have undergone these procedures, and I have to say… hair is a big deal, and these surgeries, if done well, can completely change a person’s appearance. And yet, I also understand that American Airlines doesn’t want to have blood dripping in its cabins.
The couple claimed the blood was dry, but it doesn’t actually look dry in the mugshot. It’s not unreasonable to demand that bleeding wounds be dressed with fresh bandages… American Airlines seems to have a point here.
Shame on the couple who refused to comply, made a scene on board and then held everyone up by refusing to get off, forcing the police to come and take them away in handcuffs.
These operations are not cheap, but I hope American Airlines sends them a much higher bill for the inconvenience they cause.
