The following excerpt is from Inclusion Daily:
Passenger: Airline Said I Needed A Companion To Fly
(Peter Greenberg Worldwide)
October 15, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN– [Excerpt] The airline industry has caused controversy over “too fat to fly” policies this year, but after US Airways booted a man last month for being “too disabled to fly,” it might find a new debate brewing.
Johnnie Tuitel, a motivational speaker with cerebral palsy, says a US Airways gate agent escorted him off a flight from West Palm Beach to Kansas City because he was deemed “too disabled” to fly by himself.
According to Tuitel, after being helped onto the plane by a gate agent, he was later told that he would need to fly with a companion, since he was a danger to himself and others if an emergency were to occur.
Tuitel, who says he has flown more than 500,000 miles over the past couple of years to attend conferences and deliver speeches, was born with cerebral palsy and has been wheelchair-bound his entire life. Tuitel says this is the first time an airline has required him to fly with a companion.
Entire article:
Too Disabled To Fly? US Airways Boots Disabled Traveler
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/2010/red/1015c.htm
Related:
Grand Rapids man with cerebal palsy removed from US Airways flight (WZZM)
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=135336&catid=2
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