‘HORRIFIC AND UNACCEPTABLE’: American Airlines passenger has to crawl off plane after wheelchair never arrives
American Airlines is facing backlash regarding its treatment of disabled customers after a video of a special needs child crawling down the aisle went viral.
On June 28, Susan Grove (@susangrove) posted a video of her daughter crawling down the aisle of a plane. The text overlay reads, “The Aisle Chair never came, so our special needs daughter had to crawl off the plane.” American Airlines is tagged in the video, which has earned over 17.3 million views as of Thursday.
“This cannot happen to special needs people/families,” wrote Grove in the caption. “Also; we tried to carry her but she is 150 pounds and carrying her down the small aisles is very difficult.”
Some commenters questioned why Grove was recording instead of helping her daughter, but she clarified in the comments. “Also, I am videoing so this never happens again and, yes, you can hear me encouraging because we had just finished a 7 hour flight (and a horrible 4 days of travel with AA) and I know she was exhausted,” she says.
American Airlines responds
Later that night, Grove posted a follow-up video where she shared that she had just received a phone call from the special services department of American Airlines.
“And they said that they’re willing to offer us $75 for Ava, $75 for myself, and $75 for my husband due to the inconvenience of everything that I shared,” she says. “So, as you all probably know, I said that was unacceptable and that I would love to speak with a manager.”
On June 30, Grove posted a second follow-up video updating viewers on a second response she received from American Airlines. In the video, she shares an email she received from the popular airline.
In the screenshot of the email, American Airlines states that they have refunded the ticket for Grove’s daughter and provided additional bonus miles. Grove clarifies that she will be responding to that email with the intent of speaking to an agent on the phone to share her experience in detail, hoping to prevent similar incidents from happening to another family.
‘We need to normalize accessibility’
Overall, the comments of the initial video expressed outrage, questioning the negligence of American Airlines.
“This made me so mad and upset. We need to normalize accessibility for everyone,” wrote one commenter.
“I’ve been a flight attendant for nine years and I’ve never had a situation like this,” said another user. “It makes me think they just didn’t want to wait for the aisle chair and preferred to force her to drag herself down the aisle.”
Many comments also chimed in with similar experiences, voicing the idea that this is not an isolated incident among airlines.
“This happened to me once,” claimed one comment. “My flight forgot to add the aisle chair and made me scoot to the bathroom everytime I had to go & they told me it ‘wasn’t too far.’”
“I was just on a Delta flight last week where an old couple requested an aisle chair and the request ‘wasn’t there,’” claimed another. “They found one for the way up but they had to wait FOREVER for when we got there.”
Beyond expressing outrage, many comments encouraged Grove to take legal action. “Please file a lawsuit, there are precedent cases for this type of violation of ACAA and ADA,” voiced one comment. “In addition to the lawsuits, American Airlines received a $50 million DOT fine just last year.”
American Airlines and its treatment of passengers
American Airlines has frequently been accused of mistreating passengers with disabilities in the past. The Department of Labor fined the airline $50 million in October 2024. This was due to its mistreatment of disabled passengers. It was 25 times more than the previous largest fine for violating the legal protections of disabled customers.
This case was regarding previous complaints from 2019 to 2023 regarding the airline’s treatment of wheelchair users.
In October 2024, American Airlines made a statement to Forbes saying that they would “continue the airline’s significant actions to improve the travel experience for customers traveling with wheelchairs and mobility devices.”
@susangrove This cannot happen to special needs people/families. Also; we tried to carry her but she is 150 pounds and carrying her down the small aisles is very difficult. #americanairlines #notokay #viral #spreadtheword ♬ original sound – Susan Grove
The Daily Dot reached out to Grove and American Airlines for comment.
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