<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br><br><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">-- <br>Miranda B. Kilby<br>President<br>Tampa Bay Chapter, National Federation of the Blind of Florida<br>Vice President<br>Florida Association of Blind Students<br>2nd Vice President National Federation of the Blind of Florida<br>Ph: <a dir="ltr" href="tel:(352)942-0417" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2">(352)942-0417</a></span></div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> Sherrill O'Brien via Nfbf-l <<a href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Date:</b> June 3, 2017 at 2:19:03 PM EDT<br><b>To:</b> "NFBFL" <<a href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Sherrill O'Brien <<a href="mailto:Sherrill.obrien@verizon.net">Sherrill.obrien@verizon.net</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[Nfbf-l] Frontier Airlines Refuses to Allow Blind Man and Granddaughter to board plane at Tampa Airport</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <<a href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Good afternoon to all,</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>The following article from the Tampa Bay Times makes me proud that I am part</span><br><span>of an organization who will never back down or give up when terrible and</span><br><span>unexpected discrimination like this occurs.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Thankfully this story was also carried on Tampa's local ABC and Fox TV</span><br><span>stations.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Sherrill</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier Airlines refused to allow blind man and granddaughter on plane at</span><br><span>Tampa airport</span><br><span></span><br><span>Justine Griffin Times Staff Writer</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Friday, June 2, 2017 11:11am</span><br><span></span><br><span>Kliphton Miller, 44, holds his 18-month-old granddaughter Kassidy Reynolds</span><br><span>one day before attempting to board a flight to Las Vegas out of TIA. Miller</span><br><span></span><br><span>was turned away at the gate by employees who said his disability (being</span><br><span>blind) was a liability. Kliphton, born with glaucoma, has been totally blind</span><br><span>since</span><br><span></span><br><span>he was three years old</span><br><span></span><br><span>Kliphton Miller, 44, stands with his nine-year-old daughter Kliphrecce</span><br><span>Miller, right, outside of their apartment in Tarpon Springs. Kliphton was</span><br><span>not allowed</span><br><span></span><br><span>to board a Frontier Airlines flight on May 23 while escorting his</span><br><span>18-month-old granddaughter Kassidy Reynolds on a flight to Las Vegas out of</span><br><span>Tampa International</span><br><span></span><br><span>Airport because employees said his disability (being blind) was a liability.</span><br><span> [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times]</span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier Airlines has apologized for a "customer service failure" in</span><br><span>refusing to let a blind man traveling with his granddaughter board a plane</span><br><span>in Tampa</span><br><span></span><br><span>TAMPA - When Kliphton Miller left his home in Tarpon Springs before the sun</span><br><span>came up on May 23 for a 7:15 a.m. flight to Las Vegas, he didn't realize how</span><br><span></span><br><span>quick the trip would be. Airline employees refused to let him board the</span><br><span>plane. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Miller, 44, who is legally blind, was traveling with his 18-month-old</span><br><span>granddaughter to Las Vegas, where her parents live, after an extended visit</span><br><span>in Florida.</span><br><span></span><br><span>But Frontier Airlines employees at Tampa International Airport refused to</span><br><span>allow him to board the plane, even though he had paid for the flight. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"I frequently fly with my granddaughter on other airlines and had flown on</span><br><span>Frontier with her before too, but they still denied me access," said Miller.</span><br><span></span><br><span>"I was denied because I am blind. They told me I was a liability." </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Miller had no problem moving through the airport with his granddaughter</span><br><span>without any extra assistance, including through the security checkpoint, he</span><br><span>said.</span><br><span></span><br><span>But when he asked for help getting on the plane once he reached his gate,</span><br><span>that's when airline employees began to question his ability to watch over</span><br><span>the</span><br><span></span><br><span>young child during the flight. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier employees told Miller that he would be a liability in the case of</span><br><span>an emergency. They said it was against their corporate policy to let him on</span><br><span></span><br><span>board. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"I would have been fine on the plane," Miller said. "Usually flight</span><br><span>attendants will help me to the bathroom if I need to change her, but I can</span><br><span>do it myself.</span><br><span></span><br><span>I was a single dad for 10 years before I got married, and then I was a</span><br><span>stay-at-home dad. I am completely capable." </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Miller said he traveled with his granddaughter on a Frontier flight to and</span><br><span>from Tampa and Minneapolis in November without issues. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"I've flown on Frontier, Spirit, American, with her alone and had no</span><br><span>problems," he said. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Miller's incident with Frontier Airlines is the latest in a slew of heated</span><br><span>mishaps between airline employees and its passengers lately. United Airlines</span><br><span></span><br><span>came under fire earlier this year when the City of Chicago Department of</span><br><span>Aviation Police forcedly removed a passenger and physically accosted him to</span><br><span>remove</span><br><span></span><br><span>him from the airplane. A Delta flight attendant told one father he would go</span><br><span>to jail and his children would go to foster care if he didn't give up seats</span><br><span></span><br><span>on a plane that he paid for.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier did refund Miller's ticket in full. But he still filed a complaint</span><br><span>with the U.S. Department of Transportation. A few days later, a</span><br><span>representative</span><br><span></span><br><span>from Frontier's customer service department called him to apologize. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"We apologize to the passenger for the inconvenience he encountered while</span><br><span>traveling with us last week. There was a customer service failure during his</span><br><span></span><br><span>travel experience with us at TIA," said Richard Oliver, a spokesman with</span><br><span>Denver-based Frontier Airlines. "We have coached airport team members and</span><br><span>ensured</span><br><span></span><br><span>compliance with Frontier policy that ensures all passengers are treated with</span><br><span>respect and ensures that we are sensitive to their individual travel needs."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier also rescheduled his trip to Las Vegas free of charge - and even</span><br><span>told Miller they're working on changing their corporate policies so this</span><br><span>doesn't</span><br><span></span><br><span>happen again. Miller was able to fly out from Tampa with his granddaughter</span><br><span>two days later without issues. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"People like to make assumptions. They like to judge a book by its cover and</span><br><span>always assume the worst about someone. That doesn't get nobody anywhere. I</span><br><span></span><br><span>just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else," Miller said. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Frontier Airlines refused to allow blind man and granddaughter on plane at</span><br><span>Tampa airport 06/02/17 [Last modified: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:19pm] </span><br><span></span><br><span>Photo reprints</span><br><span></span><br><span>|</span><br><span></span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Nfbf-l mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:Nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">Nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbf-l:</span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/mbkilby%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/mbkilby%40gmail.com</a></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>