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

[Sherrill O'Brien]

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] 

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