Airline Bans Alaska Lawmaker For Repeatedly Violating Mask Policy, Making Her Commute Infinitely Harder

Alaska Airlines said Saturday that it banned state Sen. Lora Reinbold after she repeatedly refused to wear a mask on its flights.

The airline is the only one that offers regularly scheduled direct flights from Eagle River, Reinbold’s hometown, to Juneau, the state capital, according to the Anchorage Daily News, casting uncertainty over how she would commute from her district to work. The drive between the two is just shy of 21 hours, and goes through Canada.

“We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy,” Alaska Airlines spokesman Tim Thompson told the ADN. “The suspension is effective immediately, pending further review.”

In a Facebook post Sunday, Reinbold said she had found an alternate means of travel: “I have a new appreciation for the marine ferry system,” she said, adding that part of her journey would be made by car as well. “I am keenly aware of the monopoly in air transport to Juneau that needs reviewed!”

“Nothing could get in the way to be in the Capitol to fight executive branch infringement on the legislature & defending your rights,” she added.

In an earlier post, she said that she believed “constitutional rights are at risk under corporate covid policies,” and that she was “reasonable” with airline employees.

Despite the ban, she said she hoped to be back on Alaska Airlines flights in the future.