Florida Evangelist Banned From Alaska Airlines After Preaching on Flight

A Florida evangelist known for preaching to fellow passengers on flights has been banned from Alaska Airlines after she was removed from a plane during a delay, an incident she's since called "spiritual warfare."

Whitney Lynn, 40, of Orlando, was asked to leave Alaska Airlines Flight 708, bound for San Diego from Orlando International Airport, on Thursday, July 30. According to video Lynn posted to Instagram, she stood up in the aisle during the delay and addressed the cabin for under 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.

While she spoke, a chime from a crew call button sounded in the background, audible in the video. A crew member then approached her and told her to gather her belongings, saying, "The crews don't feel safe with you."

Alaska Airlines confirmed the removal in a statement to People. "Our flight crew became increasingly concerned about a guest's behavior on board the aircraft, which was also affecting other guests," the airline said. "The passenger was asked to deplane the aircraft for safety reasons." The airline added that Lynn "will not be permitted to travel on our flights" for the foreseeable future, a ban that reportedly extends to Alaska's affiliated carriers, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air, while an internal review of her recent travel history is conducted.

Lynn Calls the Incident "Spiritual Warfare"

Lynn documented her removal in a series of Instagram videos, including one titled "Kicked Off The Plane Part 1!!!," which had drawn roughly 3 million views by the following day. "Looking back, I can clearly see God's hand in it all," she wrote in one caption. "What seemed like a setback became an opportunity for people to hear the gospel and give their lives to Christ." She said she went on to pray with a shuttle driver who took her back to her hotel and with a man she met at the front desk, and described the situation more bluntly elsewhere, saying, "demons don't like the name of Jesus."

Lynn told the Anchorage Daily News she had been traveling to attend a follower's funeral in California and was able to rebook her flight, but later received an email informing her of the multi-airline ban. She said she received a flight credit but has no way to use it, and that she intends to speak with an attorney while continuing to preach on future flights regardless of the consequences.

Part of a Broader In-Flight Preaching Trend

Lynn's habit of evangelizing during flights was previously featured in a Washington Post profile examining a small community of evangelists who use air travel as an opportunity to share their faith with a literal captive audience. In a separate video from the previous month, Lynn preached to passengers waiting to deplane in San Diego, speaking for about a minute on sin, heaven, hell and redemption while passengers around her remained silent. She captioned that clip, "I just love a captive audience."

Brett Raio, another evangelist based in Maine who's part of the same in-flight preaching trend, has said he feels compelled to speak because he believes God prompts him to do so, and that ignoring that prompt risks missing a chance to reach someone before it's too late.

Mixed Public Reaction

Reaction to Lynn's removal has split sharply online. Some commenters have encouraged her to keep preaching, with one writing that people should be grateful rather than bothered by her message. Others have pushed back on her framing of the incident, with one Instagram comment reading, "Please stop rewriting the story to make yourself the martyr. You weren't kicked off that flight because you were 'preaching the Gospel.'"

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