Woman, 29, ordered to pay nearly $40,000 in fines to American Airlines after swearing at crew on flight from Phoenix to Honolulu when they asked her to wear a mask — and she’s now BANNED from flying on commercial planes

A Hawaii woman was ordered to pay a nearly $40,000 fine to American Airlines after swearing at the crew of a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.

Cayla Farris, 29, caused a stir on board the plane in February 2022 when she refused to wear a face covering required during the coronavirus pandemic.

Federal prosecutors said the 29-year-old was sentenced to 3.6 months in prison in connection with her actions — plus three years of supervised probation.

She will also be barred from boarding a plane without explicit permission for three years during her probation, a U.S. district judge said.

Shortly after the plane took off from Phoenix, Arizona, Farris was asked to wear a mask as part of the plane’s Covid policy.

Farris put on her mask but then took it off, according to her plea agreement.

She then started threatening and swearing at people on the plane.

When they gave Farris a written warning, she threw the piece of paper on the ground and shouted “(expletive),” according to the plea agreement.

“My behavior escalated to the point where the aircraft crew members were intimidated and unable to perform their duties,” the Hawaii resident said in the document.

The plane’s captain decided to turn the plane around and landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. This was due to Farris’ behavior which prevented the crew members from continuing their duties on board.

Farris pleaded guilty in September to interfering with a flight crew member.

The judge ordered her to pay $38,952 in restitution to American Airlines for costs related to the delay.

American Airlines was also embroiled in multiple mask-related ordeals during the pandemic years.

In September 2021, a mother claimed she was kicked off an American Airlines flight because her 2-year-old son had an asthma attack and couldn’t wear a mask.

Amanda Pendarvis was on American Airlines Flight 1284 from Dallas Fort Worth to Colorado Springs with her mother and toddler son Waylon when she says a flight attendant, whose name she gave as Carl, told her Waylon needed to wear a mask.

Pendarvis, from Oklahoma, described Carl as “truly evil” and “power-tripping” in her Instagram Story describing the ordeal, which she said was “humiliating/traumatizing.”

After trying unsuccessfully to get Waylon to put on a face covering, Pendarvis said the crew turned the plane around and she was escorted by police officers.

Federal prosecutors said the 29-year-old was sentenced to 3.6 months in prison in connection with her actions — plus three years of supervised probation. Pictured: A group of passengers wearing face masks

And in January 2022, a female first-class passenger refused to wear a mask on an American Airlines flight from Miami to London, causing the plane to turn back.

The unnamed woman, who forced a return to Miami airport after a nine-hour, ninety-minute journey, was no solo troublemaker.

Both the woman and her companion, whose gender has not been revealed, were drunk and refused to wear masks, sources said. The nationality of neither passenger has been released.

CBS Miami reported that one of the two – believed to be the woman whose behavior was previously reported – was “a bigger problem,” with her aggression reportedly causing the plane to turn around.

The crew reportedly decided it would be too disruptive to contain the bad behavior for the remaining seven and a half hours of the transatlantic journey, with 129 passengers and 14 crew on board.

One person was dealt with ‘administratively’ by police, but not arrested, and was subsequently banned from flying American for life.