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Alaska State Senator Banned From Airline for Violating Mask Policy

The Alaska Republican has been banned from the only commercial airline linking her district with the state’s capital.

Alaska Airlines announced this weekend that State Senator Lora Reinbold has been banned from its flights for refusing to follow mask-wearing rules. “The suspension is effective immediately,” airline spokesman Tim Thompson told Anchorage Daily News. A video posted to twitter last week seemingly showed Reinbold, a Republican, arguing with airport staff about wearing a mask. In a statement, the lawmaker took issue with the ban, saying she “inquired about mask exemption with uptight employees at the counter” and that she was “reasonable with all Alaska Airline employees.” The ban poses major problems for Reinbold’s work commute to the state capital as Alaska Airlines is the only airline that links Anchorage—the travel hub nearest to her district—to Juneau, which has no overland road access. This will mean that if Reinbold wants to travel to the capital, the trip will take roughly three days, including a portion by boat.