Posted on 01/05/2017 4:20:19 PM PST by nickcarraway
Two sisters said they were kicked off an Allegiant Air flight after authorities deemed them a threat, and it cost them the chance to see their dying father.
Debbie Hartman and Trisha Baker of DeLand, Florida, said they were on the plane Monday in Orlando, waiting to take off for Asheville, North Carolina, to see their father, who was in hospice care.
When Baker got a text message saying her father only had hours to live, she wanted to tell her sister, who was sitting further back in the plane. She told Orlando television station WKMG that a flight attendant stepped in when she got up from her seat.
"She said, `You need to sit down,' and I said, `Well can I just sit here? I just want to console my sister. We just got word that my dad's dying," Baker said.
Hartman had a panic attack and Baker accused the flight attendant of not being compassionate, telling her "You're being very rude," Hartman recalled. She said her sister was then told she needed to keep her "personal problems" off the plane.
The flight attendant alerted the captain and airport security escorted them off the plane.
"They told us we were a threat to the flight," Hartman said. "I couldn't believe it."
Their father died a short while later, and Hartman said they want the airline to be held accountable for keeping them from getting to see him.
"This is not humane," Hartman said.
"One hundred thousand percent I blame them. They were the gate between keeping me from my father to say goodbye."
Allegiant officials told the station they are investigating.
A statement from the airline said they rely on the crew to "provide and oversee a safe environment for every passenger, on every flight. We expect that authority to be exercised both judiciously and consistently, with empathy and with good judgment. We take this customer feedback seriously and are in the process of conducting an investigation into what occurred."
So they refused to follow instructions and got thrown off the plane. But, but, but they had a good excuse! Learn to behave in public.
One way to guarantee a flight is to wear a Muslim headscarf.
So, she got up when the seat belt sign was lit, ignored directions from the flight attendants, and then they started screaming and wailing uncontrollably... and they blame the airline. A dying relative is not carte blanche for rude behavior. I side with the airline on this one.
Okay, who is what color and what religion and then we’ll know the proper response.
OH, and how do they have sex?
P.S. Legal or illegal?
They were all buckled in and the plane taxiing out for takeoff. It was stupid. They could have waited until the seat belt sign was turn off and free to move about the cabin. A few minutes would not have made any difference. I feel for their loss but you just don’t do that.
People get up all the time when the seat belt sign is lit. I'd say give the gal a break if she just learned that her father was dying and told the stewardess (or was it a steward?) about her issue.
ML/NJ
Have to side with the plane.
You do what they say when they say, that’s it.
They blew it.
Couldn’t both get the same text? Why make a scene about it. You will still get there at the same time IF you don’t act up and get thrown off the plane.
I’m sure someone has video that will show they were far from the innocent waifs they are making themselves out to be.
Nonsense. I wonder how many times passengers have gamed the flight attendants with remarks like this, only to find out it was bogus. 1-2 minutes would not have made any difference, and her sister did not know anyway. How silly, and how sad.
Their emotional status at that time was secondary to the safe conduct of the flight. Of course, when foolish people cause accidents in their cars all the time because they deem a text message more important than safely controlling their vehicle, what can you expect?
Nice headline. They should have been able to watch their dying father kicked off a plane on YouTube, instead of traveling to see it. :)
Put them both on the no-fly list, but don’t tell them about it.
They will find out, eventually.
Sometimes flight attendants are just nasty. I wouldn’t be so quick to assume the sisters were being insubordinate. What was wrong with the flight attendant just being a bit kinder? Also, why weren’t the sisters seated together? That’s what I wonder. I think the airline should be ashamed. Really. I’ve had a few bad experiences. Once a person was traveling with their cat and it got loose in the cabin...it was hanging out under our seats. My husband is highly allergic. We told them we thought the cat should have to stay in a crate or whatever...now we know that cats are more important than people!
Agree with you. A little kindness goes a long way. I suppose they expect a person to have diarrhea in their seat when the seatbelt light is lit, right?
Shouldn’t have waited so long to say goodbye
Even the flight attendants sit down and buckle up before take-off.
They were both Caucs.
Not at taxi and take off you don’t.
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