TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man suffering from a bleeding head wound after a hair transplant, and his wife, were arrested early Tuesday morning after refusing to deboard their flight at Miami International Airport.
The man, identified as 27-year-old Eugenio Hernandez-Garnier, boarded an American Airlines flight bound for Las Vegas with a noticeable bloody bandage wrapped around his head. Hernandez-Garnier claimed his doctor had cleared him to fly and presented paperwork to confirm this. However, flight attendants expressed concern after observing the extent of his bleeding and asked him to deboard the plane.
Request to Leave and Medical Concerns
According to the arrest report, flight attendants requested that Hernandez-Garnier clean up the blood and change his bandages. However, he informed them that he did not have any clean bandages available. Due to the visible blood and potential health risks, airline staff asked Hernandez-Garnier and his wife, Yusleidys Loyola, to exit the plane. Their primary concern was Hernandez-Garnier’s medical condition and the possibility of body fluid contamination.
Despite these concerns, the couple refused to comply with the request to leave the aircraft.
Police Intervention and Arrest
Following their refusal, airport police officers were called to the scene. They made several attempts to persuade the couple to exit the plane. After what was described as a “brief moment of resisting,” both Hernandez-Garnier and Loyola were arrested.
After his release from jail on Tuesday night, Hernandez-Garnier spoke with NBC affiliate WTVJ about the incident. “I have a lot of pain. I have pain here and pain here on the head,” he stated.
Hernandez-Garnier explained that he had traveled to Miami from Las Vegas to undergo both a hair transplant and liposuction. While on the return flight, concerned passengers alerted flight attendants about the bleeding from his head.
Escalation and Allegations of Discrimination
Hernandez-Garnier recounted being told by a flight attendant, “You need to go out because somebody don’t like what you have on your head.” He showed WTVJ a doctor’s note stating he was cleared to fly and return to work with no restrictions. Despite this, the situation escalated when the flight attendant allegedly told him she didn’t care about the note.
“She tells me, ‘You either go out, or I’m gonna call the police.’ I said, call the police because that’s injustice. I paid for my flight. I don’t have anything illegal in my possession. Everything is fine,” Hernandez-Garnier said.
Loyola, who had also undergone cosmetic surgery in Miami, livestreamed the incident on TikTok, where thousands of viewers watched. “You guys know I’ve got… breast lift, arm lipo… I can’t even walk,” Loyola told WTVJ in Spanish. “Call 911… We are being discriminated against and abused.”
Removal and Charges
The couple described the moment when airport officers attempted to remove them from the plane. “If you don’t get off, they’re going to grab you and they’re going to pull you off,” an officer told Hernandez-Garnier.
The TikTok video continued to show the officers forcibly removing the couple from the aircraft. They were arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest after repeatedly refusing to comply with the officers’ requests.
“This could have all been avoided if they would have just followed the commands or the request of the officers to vacate the aircraft,” Miami-Dade County police spokesperson Argemis Colomé told WTVJ.
Loyola was expected to be released from jail on Wednesday morning, according to WTVJ.
American Airlines Statement and Flight Delays
In response to the incident, American Airlines issued a statement:
“During boarding of American Airlines flight 1858 on Aug. 19 with service from Miami (MIA) to Las Vegas (LAS), two customers became disruptive and were non-compliant with crewmember instructions. Law enforcement responded and removed both customers from the aircraft. We thank our crewmembers for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” a spokesperson said.
Following an overnight delay, the flight eventually departed on Tuesday morning, the airline confirmed.
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