Two visually impaired travelers were reportedly overlooked by an airline during their journey.
In July, Sherri Brun and Camille Tate were on their way back from New Orleans to Orlando, Florida. Their flight on July 14 was postponed for five hours. Throughout the delay, they waited at the departure gate and frequently checked for updates using the Southwest Airlines app, the airline they were flying with.
Eventually, they managed to board a different flight to Orlando. To their surprise, they were the sole passengers on board. The reason? The airline allegedly ‘forgot’ about them.
In an interview with FOX 35 Orlando, Sherri expressed, “You’re the only two people on this flight because they forgot about you.”
Apparently, other passengers who did not have disabilities were re-assigned to earlier flights to Orlando, which departed from an adjacent gate.
Meanwhile, Sherri and Camille remained at the initial gate, unaware there was another flight available.
They have shared their story to advocate for better treatment of disabled passengers.
Sherri remarked, “The way they help their customers that require additional assistance needs to change. There needs to be follow through.”
Camille commented: “There needs to be some improvement in how they communicate with their passengers especially those that have disabilities.”
Southwest Airlines reportedly compensated the women with a $100 voucher for the trouble they encountered. The airline also released a statement on the incident.
According to FOX 35, the response was: “The Customers were scheduled on Flight 2637. Although it ran almost five hours late that day, it remained their same flight number throughout.
“We issued the $100 vouchers as compensation for the delayed travel, but a refund is not available if a Customer actually completes the flight.
“It appears the confusion about a plane coming back to get them might be because many of the Customers on that flight were accommodated on another MCO-bound flight that left a little earlier from a nearby gate.
“These two Customers were not re-booked on that flight, so their assigned gate never changed. Our records show they flew to MCO on the airplane that had been parked at their original gate.”
The statement continued: “As far as accessibility policies, all of our information is found on the Disability-Related Accommodations section of the Help Center.
“For Customers who are blind, escort and navigation assistance is available from the airport curb to and from gates and between gates for connecting flights.
“To receive assistance, Customers must identify themselves and the type of assistance they require to a Southwest Employee when they arrive at the airport, at any connection points, and when they land at their destination. In the event of a gate change, our Employees are responsible for ensuring all Customers who need assistance reach the new gate.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Southwest is always looking for ways to improve our Customers’ travel experiences, and we’re active in the airline industry in sharing best practices about how to best accommodate Passengers with disabilities.”
UNILAD has reached out to Southwest Airlines for further remarks.