[Flagdu] Blind man gets kicked off plane, latest update

[Patricia A. Lipovsky]

Folks - I know there is a lot of heat around the issue of the passenger and 
his service animal that was removed from one of our express flights 
recently. One of the first things everyone should ask themselves is, "There 
certainly must be more to this story than meets the eye . an airline
wouldn't 
just boot them off a flight for no good reason, right?" Absolutely.

US Airways transports more than 80 million customers each year and ensures 
that all customers, including those with disabilities, are treated with 
dignity and respect. We're particularly sensitive to those customers who 
travel with service animals and we partner with Assistance Dogs 
International (ADI), an organization that trains and places assistance dogs 
around the world. US Airways employees volunteer to travel with and work 
with assistance dogs in training to help them prepare for travel with 
disabled partners. Over the past 10 years, US Airways employees have 
participated in transports everywhere from California to Croatia. So we 
understand the special needs and laws surrounding transporting our disabled 
customers and their service animals. So we have been investigating what 
happened here, and that investigation continues.

Here are a few things folks should consider:

. The safety of every passenger on our aircraft is our first and foremost 
priority.
. To ensure the safety of all passengers, the carriers and FAA have approved

cabin policies the ensure that, should an incident occur, everyone can be 
safely evacuated without aisle-way obstruction.
. In compliance with the Air Carriers Access Act, and the FAA, service 
animals must be either under the seat in front of a passenger, on their lap 
(if equal to or smaller than a lap child), or at their feet . but at no time

can they be in the main aisle of the aircraft as that is a primary 
evacuation route. In this instance, the animal was not able to be secured 
out of the main aisle, and attempts to work with the customer failed to 
ensure compliance with this safety rule.
. The customer is an advocate for disability rights, and appears to have 
forced a confrontation with his disruptive behavior, rather than simply 
complying with the instruction and securing the dog. Everyone was tired, it 
was near midnight, and I'm sure patience was in short supply as the aircraft

had already been delayed on departure due to a mechanical issue and the 
animal was restless. We all would be.
. Once that was communicated by the cabin crew to the flight deck crew, the 
decision was made to return to the gate to remove the customer and calm the 
situation.
. Several other passengers, upon seeing the customer's removal from the 
flight, piled on to the emotional confrontation, making threats to contact 
media and make an issue of out 'kicking a blind man and his dog off a US 
Airways flight.' This reduced the FA to tears, and they were unable to 
continue as they believed their safety was in jeopardy. The captain made the

decision to cancel the flight and alternate means of transport were secured 
to get the passengers to their destination. Again, everyone was tired, it 
was late, and I'm sure folks simply wanted to get home. As a result, our 
customers did not get to their destination until after 2 in the morning.

So, having said all that, we apologize to the customers of the flight for 
the inconvenience caused by this incident and will be reaching out to them. 
I am sure everyone involved wish it had never happened and they had simply 
gotten to their destination on time.

We are also supportive of crews as they do a very difficult job, and in very

sensitive emotional circumstances, to guard the safety of all our customers,

on every flight, every day. If a crew member ask you to do something, there 
is a lawful and reasonable reason to comply with the request. That is simple

and easy to do. Feel free to ask questions and get clarification, but 
forcing confrontations or making threats jeopardizes the safety of everyone 
on board. You can bet that will create a delay and potentially removal from 
the aircraft. No one wins there.

As I said, we continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 
incident, and we welcome any additional information that will enable us to 
better accommodate our disabled passengers and their service animals. We 
want to improve our service, and avoiding these kinds of confrontations 
through education and sensitivity are always the better path.

Thanks for taking two minutes to read a bit more about what we believe 
occurred on this flight. After all, there certainly is more to the story . 
right? Absolutely.

-- John McDonald - Spokesman, US Airways
5 hours ago
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