updated news articles
FYI; report with a quote from another passenger:
http://www.abc15.com/news/local/stor...2-ff2890c873ee
A Seattle family said they were left stranded at Sky Harbor Airport over the holiday weekend when Southwest Airlines refused to allow them to board a connecting flight because their children were disruptive.
Wendy Slaughter and her sister were heading with four children from Detroit to Seattle on July 4th. They were to change planes in Phoenix.
Slaughter told KIRO-TV in Seattle she was left stranded with no money and no way to get anywhere because her kids were too disruptive.
According to the KIRO report, one of Slaughter’s children is autistic, another has cerebral palsy.
Slaughter admits her kids were restless, but Southwest is being unreasonable.
Pat McElroy disagrees. As a passenger on the flight with the Slaughter family, he told KIRO, “It was the flight from hell. I never experienced anything like it in all my years of flying.”
McElroy said the children kept moving around when the seatbelt sign was on. He also said the kids were shouting, going up and down the aisle being disruptive.
In a statement to KIRO, Southwest Airline said “Southwest Airlines is responsible for the safety of all our passengers, even the passengers whose behavior appears to jeopardize that safety.”
The statement goes on to say that Southwest needed to address the situation before it escalated out of control.
Slaughter’s sister Jennifer Woodward said the kids were just being kids and they were sitting in the back of the plane so they wouldn’t cause problems.
Slaughter told KIRO that police in Phoenix gave her money to eat at McDonald’s and arranged for the family to stay in a motel.
A spokesperson for Phoenix Police said airport officers were contacted by Southwest Airlines to meet a flight coming in from Detroit with disruptive passengers on the flight.
Police escorted the Slaughter family to an office, where officers filed out a Federal Aviation Violation form.
Phoenix Police said it is a civil matter, not a criminal investigation and the Department will not investigate any further.
Slaughter said a relative paid $2,000 for the family to fly another airline Saturday morning. Slaughter believes she should be reimbursed for the cost of those tickets.
Southwest told KIRO it did refund the tickets on its flights.
And they are getting refunds on their ONE WAY tickets:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...tairlines.html
Southwest Airlines has agreed to refund the tickets of a woman and her family who were kicked off their connecting flight to Seattle at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Airline officials contacted the family Monday, saying they would refund the entire cost of their six one-way tickets from Detroit to Seattle via Phoenix, according to Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Christi Day.
Wendy Slaughter told Seattle television KIRO Channel 7 she was traveling with her four children and pregnant sister Friday when they were detained by police at their gate. They were told they were too disruptive to get on their connecting flight to Seattle, leaving them stranded with no money or accommodations.
Slaughter said her children, two of whom suffer from autism and cerebral palsy, were "out of control, restless and excited, but they are kids," according to KIRO.
The children's grandmother had to pay $2,000 to book a last-minute flight on Alaska Airlines for the six of them, according to KIRO-7.
Southwest Airlines said rules prevented them from paying for the Alaska Airlines tickets.
That other thread has gotten NASTY.
UPDATED to add articles. For some reason those links aren't working.
I never listen to the Bendryl or doping your kids people. If you believe this may be necessary check with your doctor. He is more familiar with your children and may either endorse the idea, or give you something else. Now, on our last flight home, I had an ear infection so the doctor told ME to take sudafed about 30 minutes before the flight (even with high BP). However-- we were delayed 4+ hours on the ground and then another 45 minutes on the plane, so I had to take a second dose.