In December 2021, German federal police had to escort Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama from a Lufthansa flight for refusing to wear a mask according to German newspaper Der Spiegel.
Der Spiegel cities testimonies from fellow passengers who claim that Rama vehemently refused to mask up on a flight from Frankfurt to Detroit, despite it being required of all passengers.
Reportedly, cabin crew were forced to call the vessel’s captain and then the federal police given Rama’s behavior.
Rama complied only after a government employ visited him in the Senator’s lounge and the airline was forced to rebook him and his ten-person crew on another flight to the United States. The airline nevertheless waved any potential fines for disobeying mask mandates.
According to Der Spiegel, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had already alluded to the incident without revealing the politician’s name, but arguing that everyone—from common passengers to heads of state—are required to wear masks when travelling.
UPDATE:
Rama’s chief spokesperson, Endri Fuga, published a tweet where he refutes the claims that Rama was escorted because he refused to wear a mask.
According to him, the incident “essentially” related a crew member’s misconduct not Rama’s refusal to wear a mask. The tweet is accompanied by the first paragraph of a letter from Lufthansa where the airline apologizes if Rama perceived the crew behavior as inappropriate. The published paragraph does not rebut Der Spiegel’s report.
Lajm i vjeter, per nje incident qe ne thelb nuk kishte vendosjen e maskes, por sjelljen e pahijshme te njerit prej anetareve te ekuipazhit. Ndjesa e kompanise u pranua qe ate dite. pic.twitter.com/lqNNMSXeOU
— Endri Fuga (@endrifuga) April 15, 2022
