In a troubling incident at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, a woman with Down syndrome was reportedly denied boarding by American Airlines. The airline, however, maintains there was a valid justification for their decision.
On July 23, Jennifer Jaspers was dropped off at the airport by her mother, eagerly anticipating her annual solo trip. Her destination was North Carolina, where family awaited her to celebrate her birthday.
At 52, Jaspers is accustomed to this yearly travel to reconnect with her father and cousins. However, this trip unexpectedly hit a snag during the check-in process.
As reported by WOWT, Jaspers was taken aback when asked an unexpected question by the airline staff.
Her mother, Cindy Garrett, recounted that an employee inquired about Jaspers’s ability to independently evacuate a building, to which Jaspers hesitantly replied, ‘I don’t know.’
After that, American Airlines determined that Jaspers required a safety assistant to get on the plane in order to adhere to their procedures.
Jaspers recalled that she began crying after being denied a boarding pass, with Garrett adding that her daughter had traveled alone dozens of times before.
‘I can fly by myself,’ Jaspers told the outlet.
Jennifer Jaspers, 52, who has Down syndrome, said American Airlines denied her a boarding pass on July 23 before her yearly trip from Omaha to North Carolina
Cindy Garrett (left), Jaspers’s mother, said her daughter was thrown off and did not know how to answer a question about ‘whether she could get herself out of a building by herself’
Her mom offered an explanation for her daughter’s response at the check-in gate.
‘Because it threw her [off],’ Garrett told WOWT. ‘She didn’t know how to answer that.’
Garrett said her family had previously used a different procedure during Jaspers’s travels to ensure everything went smoothly.
‘To transfer airplanes, we have it set up that they walk her to the next gate,’ Garrett said.
She claimed that she told American Airlines that ‘there’s never been a problem’ with her daughter’s travel plans.
‘She has a phone in her purse all the time,’ Garrett said. ‘She knows how to use it.’
Garrett added that a supervisor got involved in the situation before her daughter’s boarding pass was denied.
American Airlines said that passengers who are unable to follow safety instructions must travel with a safety assistant
Jaspers’s mom said her daughter had been scheduled to travel in first class (stock image)
In response to the incident, American Airlines said that passengers who cannot follow safety instructions need to travel with a safety assistant, per the outlet.
Jaspers was offered that option for free but turned it down, the airline said in a statement.
‘To support those who need special assistance, customers who are unable to follow safety instructions during their journey are required to travel with a safety assistant,’ American Airlines told the outlet.
‘Upon review, our team followed established procedures to determine that a safety assistant would be required to travel with the customer – and that option was offered at no cost,’ the statement continued.
Jaspers’s ticket was subsequently refunded, according to the company.
Garrett said that Jaspers is still planning to fly to North Carolina, albeit with a couple of twists.
‘She had a first-class ticket, so she won’t be able to go first class anymore,’ Garrett said.
The incident happened at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska (file photo)
Instead, Jaspers’s father has spent about two weeks planning a round trip flight that costs about $1,800.
He would come to Omaha and serve as her travel assistant.
Garrett said the family would ask American Airlines if the offer for the safety assistant to be cost-free still applied.
‘If they’re the ones demanding that there needs [to be] a second person there, [then] at least half of it, they should pay,’ she told the outlet.
The Air Carrier Access Act states that airlines cannot refuse transportation to people on the basis of disability and that airlines may not require a person with a disability to travel with another person.
However, there are exceptions for ‘certain limited circumstances’ where the airline can require a safety assistant.
‘If a passenger with a disability and the airline disagree about the need for a safety assistant, the airline can require the assistant, but cannot charge for the transportation of the assistant,’ the rule continues.
The Daily Mail has reached out to American Airlines for further comment.