A wheelchair user was forced to board a plane by crawling after staff refused to put a ramp in place for her, it has been claimed.
Theresa Purcell was taking a trip to San Diego with American Airlines but was dismayed when she was told by the airline’s staff that it was “too late” for them to arrange a ramp for her.
“There was a ramp right next to the plane and she was like, ‘Oh, it’s too late,’ so I was like ‘Okay, so we can’t just, the ramp is right there. Can’t you guys just push it right here so I can get on?’ and she’s like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry’.”
Instead, she says she was forced to crawl in front of fifty people in order to take the flight and is now taking a lawsuit against the airline for their behaviour.
“I was humiliated. It was embarrassing to have 50-something people watch you crawl into a plane. Is today another time where I have to climb onto an airplane again, where all these people have to watch me embarrass myself again, and I gotta be there, hoping please, I hope I never see these people again?”
American Airlines has declined to issue any compensation to Ms Purcell and she is now proceeding with a $2.5m legal claim.
