Some airlines have removed passengers from planes whom they deem “unfit” for air travel, and while this practice is in-line with their policies, some incidents have appeared unnecessary, such as when airlines/airline-kicked-man-off-flight-for-taking-a-sleeping-pill.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow”>WestJet removed a man who took a sleeping pill upon boarding.
A similar incident occurred this weekend with a different airline and a pregnant woman.
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Billie-Jo Robinson, 28, was removed from a Virgin Atlantic flight on Saturday after she felt slightly sick before the plane took off for Manchester, England, from New York.
Robinson’s plane had been sitting on the runway for a few hours at John F. Kennedy Airport when she began to feel unwell and asked a cabin crew member for a barf bag.
“We were left waiting on the plane for ages because of missing passengers. It was really hot and I had really bad heartburn after having a McDonald’s in the airport and felt a bit sick,” Robinson told Liverpool Echo.
“I saw an air hostess with sick bags and asked her for one and I was sick a little bit – but not enough to leave my seat,” she said. “I asked the air hostess could she get rid of the bag and she asked was I okay to which I said I was fine and she gave me a bottle of water.”
Forty minutes later as she was reading a magazine, Robinson was approached by a flight attendant who told her she had to get off the flight.
The flight attendant notified Robinson that a ground doctor had deemed her unfit to fly, even though the doctor hadn’t spoken with Robinson or examined her. They assured Robinson that she would be provided hotel accommodations and taken to a hospital where she would get a doctor’s note before being booked on the next flight.
“However when we got off the flight, I was told to go and collect our luggage, which was a 15-minute walk away and then drag a 22 kg (48 pound) case across the airport up escalators, bear in mind I’m ‘too sick to fly and need to go to hospital’,” Robinson said.
From there, things got worse. Virgin Atlantic couldn’t locate her bag and told her it “wasn’t their responsibility.” Virgin Atlantic did not provide her hotel accommodations initially but took several hours before a hospital visit and hotel were arranged.
The next morning Virgin Atlantic’s duty manager contacted Robinson and informed her that she didn’t need a “fit to fly” note from a doctor and could get on the next flight.
The airline released the following statement regarding the incident: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our top priority. When Robinson became unwell we evaluated the situation with our independent medical experts and unfortunately she was deemed too unwell to travel. In line with our procedures as the customer had been sickness free for over 12 hours, she was deemed fit to fly the next day. We are truly sorry for any distress caused and are in direct contact with Robinson to resolve the situation.”
Regardless, Robinson says she won’t be traveling while pregnant again due to how Virgin Atlantic treated her:
“Me and my boyfriend went to Jamaica while I was pregnant and I was supposed to be going to Krakow, but I have canceled that now. I don’t want to fly anywhere else while I am pregnant. The whole ordeal was so stressful and when we got home I went to the doctors to check the baby was okay and both our heart rates were high.”
