Chicago mom, 2-year-old son removed from flight over mask policy

Southwest Airlines says it is looking into the incident that happened Saturday when a Chicago mom was kicked off a plane headed to Midway Airport because her 2-year-old son was having trouble wearing a mask. 

Jodi Degyansky was headed home to Chicago after visiting family in Florida with her 2-year-old son, Hayes. 

She says her son had pulled down his mask after they pulled away from the gate in Fort Myers to snack on some gummy‘s.

Flight attendants told her airline policy requires everyone 2 and older to wear a mask.

Jodi admits her son, who just turned 2 a week ago, was a bit squirmy and didn’t want to wear the mask while eating, but she says he eventually left it on.

That’s when she says the plane taxied back to the gate and she was told she and her son were being kicked off.

“In that moment I was so embarrassed and so upset, so humiliated but I also knew in that moment that I was right. I was right in the moment that not only was my child wearing a mask but for all those families who have to travel during this time and are having trouble with children around the age of 2 that are pulling their masks down, there has to be a level of compassion and there just wasn’t,“ Degyansky said.

Southwest Airlines says the tickets will be refunded.

In a statement to FOX 32, the airline said "our customer relations team is looking into this particular situation to learn more about what may have occurred and will reach out to the customer.... We communicate [our mask policy] to all Customers at multiple touch points throughout the travel journey.

Degyansky spent $600 out of pocket to buy another flight to Chicago from a different airline.