A 4-year-old boy from Arkansas, with autism, was released on Monday from a Spirit Airlines flight because he was not wearing a mask, despite having a doctor’s note that the airline had accepted the flight to their destination.
The experience left little Carter Kimball devastated, says his mother.
What are the details?
KTHV-TV spoke with Callie Kimball, who told the media that her husband and son, Carter, were kicked out of the return flight through Dallas after visiting the family in Las Vegas.
Callie explained that she and her husband flew several times with Carter, who is extremely autistic and non-verbal and loves airplanes.
Dr. Carter provided them with a letter to carry during the trip, explaining that Carter is exempt from mask warrants because of his disability. According to Callie, when Carter wears a mask, he “starts to get scared,” “holds his breath,” and “gets hurt.”
She said the Little Rock family always flew on Spirit Airlines and never had any problems until Monday, when an airline employee informed them after they were boarded that “autism is not a disability” and “he must wear a mask or he has to get off the plane. ”
To make matters worse, while Carter and his father were released, the airline did not allow Carter’s babysitter – who was traveling with them to help with Carter – to land the plane with them.
Stuck in Dallas, the father and son managed to take a flight home from American Airlines for $ 1,000 out of pocket, and the American accepted Carter’s medical note. But the Kimball family has so far not received the money for the Spirit return flight from which they were thrown, and the airline did not respond to their request for a refund.
“So we got rid of all our flights, a thousand dollars and we have a son who is just upset now that he threw all his planes down,” the mother told KTHV.
Something else?
Carter is not the first autistic child to have problems with Spirit Airlines.
In September last year, a family in Chicago said the airline had sent them a letter banning 3-year-old Cebastian Lewis after taking off his mask on a return flight home.
During a stopover, the family says, Spirit employees took out the entire plane and filed a police report against the family.
According to WFLD-TV, Spirit claimed that the family uses language and is uncooperative.
Regardless, the outlet reported:
Spirit issued a statement saying he needs to cover his face throughout the flight. The only exceptions are children under 2 years. Travelers who cannot wear them for any reason, including medical, will not be able to fly Spirit.