Spirit Airlines should be ashamed of themselves.
A 4-year-old nonverbal autistic child was kicked off a Spirit Airline flight for not wearing a mask despite having a doctor’s note.
Carter Kimball and his father were boarding on their flight in Dallas when a Spirit Airline employee said that Carter had to wear a mask or he couldn’t board the plane.
Carter’s father then showed the employee Carter’s doctor’s note and the employee replied “autism isn’t a disability”.
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The employee then proceeded to kick Carter and his father off the plane.
How heartless is that?
Autistic 4-year-old Arkansas boy kicked off flight for not wearing mask despite doctor's note https://t.co/B0LJX3r9kz
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 16, 2021
On a return flight home to Little Rock, the Kimball family was removed from a plane after their 4-year old son wasn't wearing a mask, who is non-verbal with autism.https://t.co/2BREgF3FnB
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) March 16, 2021
The Blaze covered the heartbreaking story and shared these details:
A 4-year-old Arkansas boy with autism was booted from a Spirit Airlines flight on Monday for not wearing a mask, despite having a doctor’s note that the airline had accepted on the flight to their destination.
KTHV-TV spoke with Callie Kimball, who told the outlet that her husband and son, Carter, were kicked off their return flight via Dallas after visiting family in Las Vegas.
Carter’s physician supplied them with a letter to carry while traveling that explains Carter is exempt from mask mandates because of his disability. According to Callie, when Carter wears a mask “he starts freaking out,” “holds his breath,” and “will harm himself.”
She said the Little Rock family has always flown on Spirit Airlines and never had a problem until Monday, when an employee of the airline informed them once they were boarded that “autism’s not a disability” and “he has to wear a mask or he has to get off the plane.”
On a return flight home to Little Rock, the Kimball family was removed from a plane after their 4-year old son, who is non-verbal with autism, wasn't wearing a mask. https://t.co/WBOYBqYyWV
— 5NEWS (@5NEWS) March 16, 2021
The Kimballs’ had to pay over $1,000 out of pocket to book a new flight with American Airlines.
5 News got the full scoop too:
Callie Kimball is home in Little Rock waiting for her husband and son to return. They flew to Las Vegas on Spirit Airlines Friday to visit family with no cause for concern.
Monday morning on a return flight though, they were removed from the plane after their 4-year old son, Carter wasn’t wearing a mask. Carter is non-verbal with autism.
“He had a medical note from his physician stating that he’s exempt from wearing masks because whenever he wears a mask he holds his breath or he starts freaking out and he will harm himself,” said Kimball.
She says they’ve always flown with Spirit and never had any issues until now.
She says they were on board the plane and her husband showed them the note, but Spirit employees still kicked them off.
“He has a disability. It’s protected under the American Disability Act and they go ‘No no no no. Autism’s not a disability. He has to wear a mask or he has to get off the plane.'”
Spirit Airlines could’ve handled this situation a lot differently.
Don’t you agree?
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