A family from California had not one, but two, airline companies give them problems specifically because their teenage son had Down Syndrome. American Airlines and United both need to improve their worker’s understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Airlines are notoriously unfriendly to parents who have small children traveling with them. It’s unfair, and unkind, and parents should not have to tolerate the “dirty looks” that they receive from other passengers – and airline workers – just because their baby is crying. Everyone knows that babies have a tendency to cry. It’s normal!
Workers at American Airlines and United have crossed over from being unpleasant to actively discriminating against a family because their teenager had a special need. Clearly, the airlines need to have (at least some of) their workers take a course that teaches them about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Vanderhorst family is from California. The parents were traveling with their sixteen year old son, Bede, who has Down Syndrome. They were booked on a cross-country flight with American Airlines. They got upgraded to first class seating after arriving at the Newark airport. The seating assignments pleased the family, because it meant that one parent could sit next to Bede during the flight.
When it got close to boarding time, a customer service worker at American Airlines prevented the family from boarding. To make a long story short, the workers decided that the family could not board the plane because they were fearful that Bede would become “disruptive”.
The parents have a video that they took of Bede as they waited to board the plane. He was seated, playing with his baseball cap, and humming to himself. David Tolleson, the executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress, said of the airline workers:
“They were making a judgement based on appearance and on what they thought may happen in the future rather than on factual information”.
United did allow the family to board a plane. However, they were not given the first class seating that they were originally booked for. Instead, United placed the family all the way at the back of the plane. There were plenty of other empty seats available.
The family is considering suing both American Airlines and United as a result of the way they were treated. The lawsuit could be filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act. American Airlines has refunded the money that the family spent on their first class tickets. Neither airline has issued an apology for the bad behavior of their staff.
Image by Simon_sees on Flickr