Delta reviewing incident after crew tells wheelchair-user waiting on chair TSA will remove him from plane
Travel blogger says Delta crews refused to bring wheelchair to plane door
He recorded and posted a video to Instagram on Nov. 13, in which a Delta flight attendant warns him that TSA agents would make him get off a plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after he told them he would wait for his power chair to be brought to the plane door.
ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines says it is contacting a wheelchair user to offer apologies over an incident that occurred on a flight that landed at the Atlanta airport last month.
Frequent flyer Cory Woodard was diagnosed with type 2 spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two and uses a wheelchair. His travel blog, where he's known as Cory Lee, is dedicated to helping wheelchair users travel the world. He recorded and posted a video to Instagram on Nov. 13, in which a Delta flight attendant warns him that TSA agents would make him get off a plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after he told them he would wait for his power chair to be brought to the plane door.
"After arriving back home in Atlanta, the crew refused to bring my wheelchair to the door of the plane. I told the airport crew and flight attendants that I would just stay on the plane until my wheelchair was brought to the door of the plane," Woodard told FOX 5 media partner Storyful.
In the footage, a group of passengers with Woodard try to explain the situation to a flight attendant, saying they will wait for the chair. The attendant urges them to get off the plane, saying, "They’re going to make you get off the aircraft. They’re going to have their guns and stuff, and they’re going to make you get out there."
Lee said ATL normally brings his chair to the door of the plane, and said he didn’t know why they would not do the same this time. He said eventually an apologetic ground-crew worker was able to bring his chair to the plane door.
According to the Air Carrier Access Act, airlines must provide for the checking and timely return of passengers’ wheelchairs … as close as possible to the door of the aircraft, so that passengers may use their own equipment to the extent possible.
Screenshot of wheelchair user Cody Lee Woodard's travel blog, which is dedicated to helping wheelchair users travel the world.
A spokesperson for Delta released a statement to FOX 5 saying, "The exchange in this video does not reflect the high standard of care Delta people aspire to every day. We are reviewing what occurred here and will follow up as appropriate with our people. Delta has reached out to this customer directly to hear more about what they experienced and to offer further apologies."
Storyful contributed to this report.