An airline humiliated to a Latina passenger when he prevented her from taking a flight from Los Angeles due to her medical condition due to a rare skin disease.
Brianna Solari, a nurse from Sacramento, traveled to Los Angeles to undergo specialized surgery to treat tumors caused by a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis.
This strange disease causes non-cancerous tumors to grow throughout the skin and in the nervous system.
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“I am aware of how I look with all these scabs”I know it’s unpleasant. I suffer from a genetic disease and I had surgery to improve my appearance and self-esteem,” Solari told KTLA.
On Thursday, August 1st, Solari went to Hollywood-Burbank Airport to take his flight back to Sacramento with Southwest Airlines.The nurse made sure to properly cover herself with a mask and headband.
The Latina nurse completed the registration process, and when she was already on board the plane, she was suddenly approached an airline crew member and asked him to get off the aircraft.
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According to Solari, the crew member told him that there were some doubts whether or not she suffered from some kind of contagious diseaseand which specifically mentioned chickenpox.
The airline staff He took Solari back to the boarding gatewhere the nurse explained her strange medical situation.
“Basically, I’m missing a protein that is a tumor suppressor and that causes tumors to grow under and on the skin, along the nerves,” Solari explained.
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The Latina nurse told the Southwest employee that she had undergone surgery and that her illness was not, in any way, contagious. In fact, He offered to show her his hospital discharge papers, but Solari said he was refused..
The Southwest employee told him that She would not be allowed to board a plane until she was examined by medical services. in the airport.
Solari mentioned that the airline staff spoke by phone with the doctor who oversees the emergency medical services with which the airport has a contract, and When he asked to speak to the doctor, he was denied communication..
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The nurse called her own doctor’s office to request that a medical clearance letter be emailed to youwhich he eventually received.
“I had to hand my phone over to the employees to read the (authorization) letter to the (airport) doctor, and Then they told me that everything was fine and that I could go.“, Solari said.
After the unpleasant experience, the Latina nurse She waited five hours to be assigned to another flight to Sacramento..
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“It was embarrassing. It was humiliating.”It’s absolutely shameful what they did. That’s no way to treat someone,” Solari said.
According to federal regulations, passengers with a medical condition cannot be denied air travel. unless it can be determined that their condition poses a direct threat.
“We are disappointed to hear about the customer’s experience flying with us. and we apologize for the inconvenience.”While our team ultimately received clearance for the customer to travel, we were unable to do so in time for the flight’s departure,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement.
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“We rebooked him on a later flight.we offered her a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher and we are communicating directly with her to discuss the situation,” the airline added in its statement.
Solari hopes his experience will serve as a learning lesson for airlines to consider. better treatment for passengers who have a medical problem.
The Latina nurse was adamant in saying that after this humiliating experience, I would never fly Southwest Airlines again..
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