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\"My gut reaction was that he was probably worried about the coronavirus and had put on the gas mask as overkill kind of protection,\" Say told KTRK. \"But then I noticed it didn't have the filter, so that didn't really make sense.\"

\"What we heard from the lady sitting next to him was he said he wanted to make a statement. I don't know what the statement was. I'm not sure what his goals were. To me, it seemed inconsiderate,\" Say said.

American Airlines officials subsequently told KTRK on Friday that the masked man was rebooked on the next flight to Houston, \"and flew without the mask.\"

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