Whitney Lynn, a Florida evangelist with a large social media following, was ordered off an Alaska Airlines flight bound for San Diego this week after she preached to passengers before the plane left Orlando International Airport.
Lynn stood up during the delay and addressed the cabin for less than a minute, telling passengers that any frustration over the wait was part of God’s plan and that they might be avoiding a dangerous situation, The Washington Post reported.
While she was speaking, a chime from a button used to summon the crew sounded in the background, audible in a video of the moment.
A crew member then approached Lynn and told her to collect her belongings and get off the aircraft, saying, “The crews don’t feel safe with you.”
Lynn, 40, of Orlando, called the moment “spiritual warfare” and said “demons don’t like the name of Jesus.”
A social media video shows Lynn arguing with staff members about the decision. In the clip, she asked the employee escorting her whether he was from Puerto Rico, saying she could not understand him, according to The Mirror US, and told fellow passengers, “We are being persecuted, persecuted to be a Christian.”
Lynn posted several videos of the episode on social media.
By Friday afternoon, one clip had drawn roughly 3 million views on Instagram.
She later confronted the crew member who removed her in a separate clip, and posted footage of herself speaking with airport police officers, telling other travelers as they waited at the gate that she was no longer on the flight.
Alaska Airlines said in an emailed statement that its flight crew “became increasingly concerned” about a passenger’s behavior and that “the passenger was asked to deplane the aircraft for safety reasons.”
The airline said the guest “will not be permitted to travel on our flights” for the foreseeable future.
Lynn was quoted as saying that one of her followers had died and she had intended to travel to California for the funeral. She said she rebooked onto another flight, but an email from Alaska Airlines later told her she was banned from that carrier as well as Horizon Air and Hawaiian Airlines until an investigation into her recent travels concluded.
Lynn said the airline issued her a flight credit that she now cannot redeem because of the ban. She said she intends to speak with a lawyer and plans to keep preaching on flights.
Most of Lynn’s flights serve as chances to share her faith. Lynn was quoted as saying that passengers “have no choice but to hear the truth,” comparing her preaching to offering a life raft to someone who is drowning.
In another video last month, Lynn preached to passengers waiting to leave a flight in San Diego. Over roughly a minute, she talked about sin, Hell, Heaven, redemption, Jesus and the weather, while passengers around her stayed silent and did not look up. Beneath the clip, she reportedly wrote, “I just love a captive audience.”
Brett Raio of Maine is another evangelist who preaches on flights. He said he feels compelled to deliver his message because he believes God prompts him to speak, and that failing to act on that prompt means missing an opportunity to reach someone before it’s too late.
Retired pastor and writer Rodney Kennedy was quoted as saying he has reservations about preaching without relationship, trust and permission. He said a message forced on a captive audience usually falls flat, and can leave people with a more negative opinion of Christians than they already held.
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