[NFBF-Tampa] Fwd: [Nfbf-l] Frontier Airlines Refuses to Allow Blind Man and Granddaughter to board plane at Tampa Airport

Sun Jun 4 17:35:31 UTC 2017

-- 
Miranda B. Kilby
President
Tampa Bay Chapter, National Federation of the Blind of Florida
Vice President
Florida Association of Blind Students
2nd Vice President National Federation of the Blind of Florida
Ph: (352)942-0417

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sherrill O'Brien via Nfbf-l <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: June 3, 2017 at 2:19:03 PM EDT
> To: "NFBFL" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sherrill O'Brien <Sherrill.obrien at verizon.net>
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Frontier Airlines Refuses to Allow Blind Man and Granddaughter to board plane at Tampa Airport
> Reply-To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> 
> 
> 
> Good afternoon to all,
> 
> 
> 
> The following article from the Tampa Bay Times makes me proud that I am part
> of an organization who will never back down or give up when  terrible and
> unexpected discrimination like this occurs.
> 
> Thankfully this story was also carried on Tampa's local ABC and Fox TV
> stations.
> 
> Sherrill
> 
> 
> 
> Frontier Airlines refused to allow blind man and granddaughter on plane at
> Tampa airport
> 
> Justine Griffin  Times Staff Writer
> 
> 
> 
> Friday, June 2, 2017 11:11am
> 
> Kliphton Miller, 44, holds his 18-month-old granddaughter Kassidy Reynolds
> one day before attempting to board a flight to Las Vegas out of TIA. Miller
> 
> was turned away at the gate by employees who said his disability (being
> blind) was a liability. Kliphton, born with glaucoma, has been totally blind
> since
> 
> he was three years old
> 
> Kliphton Miller, 44, stands with his nine-year-old daughter Kliphrecce
> Miller, right, outside of their apartment in Tarpon Springs. Kliphton was
> not allowed
> 
> to board a Frontier Airlines flight on May 23 while escorting his
> 18-month-old granddaughter Kassidy Reynolds on a flight to Las Vegas out of
> Tampa International
> 
> Airport because employees said his disability (being blind) was a liability.
> 
[DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD   |   Times]
> 
> Frontier Airlines has apologized for a "customer service failure" in
> refusing to let a blind man traveling with his granddaughter board a plane
> in Tampa
> 
> TAMPA - When Kliphton Miller left his home in Tarpon Springs before the sun
> came up on May 23 for a 7:15 a.m. flight to Las Vegas, he didn't realize how
> 
> quick the trip would be. Airline employees refused to let him board the
> plane. 
> 
> 
> 
> Miller, 44, who is legally blind, was traveling with his 18-month-old
> granddaughter to Las Vegas, where her parents live, after an extended visit
> in Florida.
> 
> But Frontier Airlines employees at Tampa International Airport refused to
> allow him to board the plane, even though he had paid for the flight. 
> 
> 
> 
> "I frequently fly with my granddaughter on other airlines and had flown on
> Frontier with her before too, but they still denied me access," said Miller.
> 
> "I was denied because I am blind. They told me I was a liability." 
> 
> 
> 
> Miller had no problem moving through the airport with his granddaughter
> without any extra assistance, including through the security checkpoint, he
> said.
> 
> But when he asked for help getting on the plane once he reached his gate,
> that's when airline employees began to question his ability to watch over
> the
> 
> young child during the flight. 
> 
> 
> 
> Frontier employees told Miller that he would be a liability in the case of
> an emergency. They said it was against their corporate policy to let him on
> 
> board. 
> 
> 
> 
> "I would have been fine on the plane," Miller said. "Usually flight
> attendants will help me to the bathroom if I need to change her, but I can
> do it myself.
> 
> I was a single dad for 10 years before I got married, and then I was a
> stay-at-home dad. I am completely capable." 
> 
> 
> 
> Miller said he traveled with his granddaughter on a Frontier flight to and
> from Tampa and Minneapolis in November without issues. 
> 
> 
> 
> "I've flown on Frontier, Spirit, American, with her alone and had no
> problems," he said. 
> 
> 
> 
> Miller's incident with Frontier Airlines is the latest in a slew of heated
> mishaps between airline employees and its passengers lately. United Airlines
> 
> came under fire earlier this year when the City of Chicago Department of
> Aviation Police forcedly removed a passenger and physically accosted him to
> remove
> 
> him from the airplane. A Delta flight attendant told one father he would go
> to jail and his children would go to foster care if he didn't give up seats
> 
> on a plane that he paid for.
> 
> 
> 
> Frontier did refund Miller's ticket in full. But he still filed a complaint
> with the U.S. Department of Transportation. A few days later, a
> representative
> 
> from Frontier's customer service department called him to apologize. 
> 
> 
> 
> "We apologize to the passenger for the inconvenience he encountered while
> traveling with us last week. There was a customer service failure during his
> 
> travel experience with us at TIA," said Richard Oliver, a spokesman with
> Denver-based Frontier Airlines. "We have coached airport team members and
> ensured
> 
> compliance with Frontier policy that ensures all passengers are treated with
> respect and ensures that we are sensitive to their individual travel needs."
> 
> 
> 
> Frontier also rescheduled his trip to Las Vegas free of charge - and even
> told Miller they're working on changing their corporate policies so this
> doesn't
> 
> happen again. Miller was able to fly out from Tampa with his granddaughter
> two days later without issues. 
> 
> 
> 
> "People like to make assumptions. They like to judge a book by its cover and
> always assume the worst about someone. That doesn't get nobody anywhere. I
> 
> just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else," Miller said. 
> 
> 
> 
> Frontier Airlines refused to allow blind man and granddaughter on plane at
> Tampa airport 06/02/17  [Last modified: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:19pm] 
> 
> Photo reprints
> 
> |
> 
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