Sherri Brun and Camille Tate, both blind, were left behind on a plane headed to Orlando that they clearly should have been able to board.
Southwest Airlines has issued a public apology following the incident. According to subsequent reports from WSVN and WOFL, the airline eventually flew Tate and Brun on another flight in which they were the only two passengers, with the others rebooked on an earlier flight.
Nonetheless, as WSVN reported, the two Florida friends were furious about their experience, which was caused by their inability to access information on the rebooked trip and the airline’s failure to notify them verbally of the swap.
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“The way they help their customers [who] require additional assistance needs to change,” Brun told the outlet. Tate added: “There needs to be some improvement in how they communicate with passengers, especially those that have disabilities.”
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On July 14, Brun and Tate scheduled their own flight, 2637, from New Orleans to Orlando; however, it was five hours late. After spending hours waiting at their previous gate, they discovered they were the only people on the flight when they finally boarded.
According to Brun, she and Tate were told, “You’re the only two people on this flight because they forgot about you.”
“Nobody … told us anything,” Brun said, according to WSVN and WOFL. “Nobody came to get us … The time passed.”
Tate reportedly remarked, “That airplane took off, and our boarding pass had not been swiped.”
The two friends said they told the media about their flying experience to draw attention to a potential problem that could affect future travelers in similar situations if the airline doesn’t make any adjustments.
People acquired a statement from Southwest Airlines stating that the two women were scheduled for flight 2637 and that the reports that they were forgotten are “inaccurate.”
“Many of the Customers on that flight were accommodated on another MCO-bound flight that left a little earlier from a nearby gate,” the Southwest Airlines statement reads. “We attempted to locate the two Customers, but were unable to find them in time to rebook them on that flight. Our records show they flew to MCO on the airplane that had been parked at their original gate.”
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Neither Brun nor Tate was rebooked on the earlier flight, and the companions said they had no idea it was even an option because they had never seen any rebooking information.
According to a statement from Southwest, Brun and Tate were given $100 vouchers each for the inconvenience, adding that they were not eligible for a complete refund because they had already finished their originally planned flight.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the statement continued. “Southwest is always looking for ways to improve our customers’ travel experiences, and we’re active in the airline industry in sharing best practices about how to best accommodate passengers with disabilities.”
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