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California nurse kicked off Southwest Airlines flight because of her skin condition: ‘Absolutely discrimination’
Brianna Solari said she was discriminated against because of her medical condition while she was on her way home following a surgery.
A California nurse has alleged that she was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because of her skin condition. Brianna Solari said she was discriminated against because of her medical condition while she was on her way home following a surgery.
Solari said an airline crew member confronted her last week when she was flying out of Hollywood Burbank Airport after undergoing a surgery to reduce the tumours on her body from her neurofibromatosis (NF), KCRA reported. A genetic disorder, Neurofibromatosis leads to non-cancerous tumours growing across the body and in the nervous system.
“I lack an enzyme, which is neurofibromin, which is a tumor suppressor,” Solari told the outlet. “So tumors grow along nerves and can be tiny, little pinpoint tumors, or they can be enormous. Some of them can be very disfiguring.”
Solari, from Roseville, California, came to Los Angeles for the operation. When she boarded Southwest Flight 3471 to head home, a crew member allegedly asked her to get off the plane.
“I exited the airplane, and they said there had been some concerns,” Solari said.
“‘Do you have any, you know, medical conditions, or diseases?’ And I said, no, I had surgery,” she said. “That’s none of their business what’s going on. But I said, no, I had surgery. And they said, ‘OK.'”
Solari said that the man grabbed his phone and called a doctor contracted with the airline. When Solari said she would like to talk to the doctor about her condition, the employees did not allow her.
“I said, let me speak to the doctor. I wasn’t examined by this physician,” Solari said.
‘It’s already hard enough’
Solari said she felt a range of emotions throughout the chaos. “Humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed? It’s already hard enough. It’s already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumors on my face and my arms, and people would comment,” she said.
Solari missed her original flight. She then had to get a letter from her surgeon so she could fly, which she had to hand over to employees at the airport. Although Solari managed to board a new flight back to Sacramento, she still had bitter feelings towards the airline.
“I don’t think I’ll ever fly them again. I think this could have been handled much more professionally,” she said. “They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision that ultimately impacted my day, my flight, my traveling, and my overall perspective on Southwest has changed.”
Meanwhile, a Southwest spokesperson told New York Post, “We are disheartened to learn of the Customer’s experience flying with us and extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience.”
“Even though our team ultimately received clearance for the customer to travel, we weren’t able to do so in time for the flight’s departure. We rebooked her on a later flight, offered a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher, and we’re following up with her directly to discuss the situation,” the spokesperson added.
The airline gave Solari a $500 flight voucher and a $45 meal voucher. However, she is still threatening legal action.
“This is absolutely discrimination! Violating my medical privacy. They don’t have to know I just said I had surgery, and that should be it. They shouldn’t be prying into my private medical information,” Solari said.
