Whitney Lynn is accustomed to preaching to passengers during flights. This time, it ended with her being removed from an Alaska Airlines plane.
The 40-year-old evangelical preacher from Florida, who says she regularly addresses passengers during flights as part of her religious mission, began speaking to travelers during a delay before takeoff until crew members asked her to leave the aircraft. The airline said her behavior had raised concerns among both crew and passengers, while Lynn described the incident as “spiritual warfare.”
The sermon that led to her removal from the flight
Whitney Lynn takes a selfie with police officers after being removed from an Alaska Airlines flight
(Photo: Whitney Lynn/Instagram)
The incident took place last Thursday aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 708, which was scheduled to depart Orlando International Airport for San Diego. According to People magazine, Lynn filmed the encounter and uploaded the videos to her Instagram account.
In one clip, she is seen standing in the aisle and addressing passengers.
“I know we’re all waiting. It’s kind of frustrating, this wait … But I wanna tell you that God’s timing is perfect and God knows everything,” she said. “Maybe he’s sparing her from danger today.”
Another video shows Lynn being asked to gather her belongings and leave the aircraft. When she asked why, an airline representative told her that crew members did not feel safe with her on board.
“I didn’t know the message of Jesus Christ was unsafe,” she replied.
Alaska Airlines told People that crew members “became increasingly concerned about a guest’s behavior on board the aircraft, which was also affecting other guests,” prompting the decision to remove her from the flight for safety reasons.
The airline added that Lynn would not be permitted to fly with it “for the foreseeable future.”
Lynn is removed from the plane
According to the New York Post, Lynn described the incident as “spiritual warfare.” She also posted a photograph of a letter she said had been sent to her by Alaska Airlines’ security department, stating that she was temporarily barred from flying with the airline and its affiliates — Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air — pending the completion of a review.
In an interview published last week by The Washington Post as part of an article about evangelical preachers who use flights to spread their faith, Lynn said she preaches on most of her trips.
She said she chooses to do so on airplanes because passengers “have no choice but to hear the truth.”
“When I have a gift, and I have a life raft, if you’re drowning, I want to give you that life raft so you can be saved,” she told The Washington Post.
After the incident, Lynn wrote on social media that, in retrospect, she viewed it as another opportunity to spread the Christian gospel.
She said she prayed with the shuttle driver who took her back to her hotel and with a man she met at the hotel reception desk.
“What seemed like a setback became an opportunity for people to hear the gospel and give their lives to Christ,” she wrote.