![]() In June 2008, American Eagle removed a 2-year-old autistic boy and his mother from a flight in North Carolina because of a crying fit. Tim Smith, spokesman for American Airlines, said it is “extremely rare” for the carrier to deny boarding to a disruptive child - “far more rare than problems with disruptive adults, for sure.” “We don’t have a policy on crying children.” United Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Massier said United has three pages of what they call “right-of-refusal” reasons. And they give attendants leeway in figuring out how to “resolve” situations. Like most other airlines, Southwest gives its flight attendants discretion in determining what constitutes a “safe and comfortable” flight, McInnis said. “We’ve heard that before,” the flight attendant told Root. “He’ll be fine once we take off,” Root remembers insisting. Suddenly, they were being escorted off the plane by an attendant who told Root something to the effect of: “We just can’t tolerate that for two hours.” Then, she discovered the passenger was Adam. Then the captain made a surprise announcement: The plane would return to the gate because of a “passenger issue.” At first, she dreaded what sounded like a delay. There were annoyed looks from fellow passengers, Root said. Monday, Adam was more than a little cranky. There was always the bag of trucks and books about trucks for a backup. The routine always made him a bit cranky but never out of control, she said. Then get him to take a nap on the flight. Wait until takeoff to feed Adam so his ears wouldn’t hurt. Root, 38, said she thought she had a foolproof flying routine with her son. Spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said it’s “very rare” to ask someone to leave a flight, and especially “unusual” to remove a crying child. Southwest, with its fun and family-friendly reputation, immediately began looking into the matter on Thursday at the request of the Mercury News. Adam’s father, Mike Root, a software engineer at Symantec, who was waiting for them in San Jose, is also livid. Still fuming, she wants Southwest to apologize and compensate her for the flight and things she bought. With her luggage heading back home without her, Root was stuck in Amarillo, Texas, and forced to buy a portable crib and diapers and stay another night with her parents. “I left, rather embarrassed,” Root said Thursday. "As always, we appreciate the spirit of compliance to the federal mask mandate and the ongoing cooperation among our customers and employees as we work collectively to support the comfort and wellbeing of all who travel with us," it added.Root and her son, Adam, were on their way home to San Jose when they were kicked off Monday’s Southwest Flight 637. "Southwest communicates the face covering policy to all customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the travel journey, including: during booking, in a pre-trip email sent prior to departure and during a required acknowledgement that is part of the Customer Health Declaration Form and appears during the check-in process on the Southwest app,, Southwest's mobile website and airport kiosks. "Refusing to wear a mask is a violation of federal law and may result in denial of boarding, removal from the aircraft and/or penalties under federal law. The airline said in a statement to WGN TV: "While we regret any inconvenience this family experienced while traveling, federal law requires each person, 2 years of age and older, to wear a mask at all times throughout the flight, including during boarding and deplaning. Newsweek has contacted Southwest Airlines for comment. This was our third attempt to fly as we previously had postponed twice as we expected problems and wanted to do all we could to satisfy Southwest." "Bryan has very high anxiety so this was a huge thing for him. "What should have been his first vacation was turned into a negative experience and we hope this hasn't affected his willingness to travel and continue to try new experiences. She added: "The discrimination Bryan faced from Southwest Airlines has left us feeling disheartened, embarrassed and disappointed. Ghislaine Maxwell's Brother Calls Jail Conditions 'Torture'įleming, who has multiple sclerosis, said she was going to California to care for a friend with MS who has just had surgery.Capitol Rioter Accused of Throwing Extinguisher at Officer Released on GPS. ![]() Delta Plane Diverts over California after Passenger Dies Mid-flight.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |