USA01 August, 20263 min read
Alaska Airlines Removes Florida Evangelist Whitney Lynn From Flight 708 Over Safety Concerns
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Whitney Lynn deboarded from Alaska Flight 708 bound for San Diego after Orlando delay. Placed on no-fly list by Alaska Airlines; suspended from Alaska, Hawaiian, and Horizon.
Evangelist removed at gate
A Florida evangelist, Whitney Lynn, was removed from Alaska Airlines Flight 708 before departure after she preached to a full cabin during a ground delay at Orlando International Airport on Thursday, July 30, as the aircraft was held at the gate and bound for San Diego International Airport.
Lynn, 40, of Orlando, addressed the passengers in the aisle for less than a minute, telling them, “god’s timing is perfect, and god knows everything,” and adding, “I pray protection over this flight in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Bless you, guys. Bless you. Amen.”
A ground manager was contacted along with law enforcement to have her removed, and a crew member told Lynn to collect her belongings and leave the aircraft, saying the crew did not feel safe with her.
Alaska Airlines said the flight crew became increasingly concerned about a guest’s behaviour on board and asked the passenger to deplane “for safety reasons,” and the carrier added that the guest will not be permitted to travel on its flights “for the foreseeable future.”
Competing explanations and debate
Lynn rejected the airline’s safety explanation on the spot, saying, “I’ll tell you what this is… it’s called spiritual warfare,” and she also told the crew, “Demons don’t like the name of Jesus… It’s not safe to talk about the gosep,” as she collected her belongings. After she was escorted out, she told airport police she had done nothing wrong and that airlines remove passengers regularly, and she began another sermon at Gate 36 while describing the airport as the Devil’s playground.
The Christian Post framed the removal as a response to evangelizing during the delay, quoting Lynn’s account that the crew member said, “The crews don’t feel safe with you,” and reporting that Lynn said, “We are being persecuted, persecuted to be a Christian.” The Times of India described the episode as a deboarding tied to her preaching, quoting Lynn saying, “Maybe he’s sparing us from danger today,” and also quoting her as saying, “We are being persecuted, persecuted to be a Christian,” while Alaska Airlines cited “increasingly concerned” behaviour and removed her “for safety reasons.”
Bans across carriers
After the deboarding, Lynn received an email from Alaska Airlines Corporate Security stating, “we have placed a hold on your ability to travel with Alaska Airlines,Hawaiian Airlines, and Horizon Air flights,” while the company investigated reports about her recent travels. The email added that “you are unable to travel on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Horizon Air,” and it said that “Upon conclusion of our investigation, we will reach out to you once again with a final decision.”
Multiple outlets reported that Alaska Airlines also prohibited her from flying on the carrier “for the foreseeable future,” and that her sister carriers Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air also placed her on a ban list as the incident was under review. Lynn said she planned to attend a follower’s funeral in California, and she told reporters she rebooked but then received an email telling her she was banned from Alaska Airlines as well as Horizon Air and Hawaiian Airlines until the investigation concluded, leaving her with a flight credit she said she “now cannot redeem because of the ban.”