A 4-year-old Arkansas boy with autism was kicked out of a Spirit Airlines flight on Monday for not wearing a mask, despite having a medical certificate that the airline accepted on the flight to his destination.
The experience left little Carter Kimball devastated, says his mother.
What are the details?
KTHV-TV spoke to Callie Kimball, who told the channel that her husband and son, Carter, had their flight back via Dallas after visiting the family in Las Vegas.
Callie explained that she and her husband flew several times with Carter, who is seriously autistic and non-verbal, and loves airplanes.
Carter’s doctor provided them with a letter to carry during the trip, explaining that Carter is exempt from mask orders because of his disability. According to Callie, when Carter wears a mask “he starts to go crazy”, “holds his breath” and “will get hurt”.
She said the Little Rock family had always flown on Spirit Airlines and never had a problem until Monday, when an airline official informed them as soon as they boarded that “autism is not a disability” and “he has to wear a mask or has to get off the plane. ”
To make matters worse, while Carter and his father were expelled, the airline did not allow Carter’s nanny – who was traveling with them to help Carter – to get off the plane with them.
Trapped in Dallas, the father and son managed to catch a flight home from American Airlines for $ 1,000 out of pocket, and American accepted Carter’s medical certificate. But the Kimball family is still penniless for Spirit’s return flight from which they were expelled, and the airline has not responded to the refund request.
“So, we are out of all our flights, a thousand dollars and we have a son who is upset now that he has thrown all his planes to the ground,” the mother told KTHV.
Anything else?
Carter is not the first autistic child to have problems with Spirit Airlines.
Last September, a family in Chicago said the airline sent a letter banning 3-year-old Cebastian Lewis after he took off his mask on a flight home.
During a stopover, the family says, Spirit employees landed the entire plane and filed a police report against the family.
According to WFLD-TV, Spirit argued that the family was using bad words and not cooperating.
Regardless, the output reported:
Spirit issued a statement, saying they require facial coverage throughout the flight. The only exceptions are children under 2 years old. Travelers who are unable to use them for any reason, including a doctor, will not be able to fly with Spirit.