A woman has filed an 11-page complaint with the Department of Transportation against Allegiant Air, a low-cost carrier based in Nevada.
The opening statement of the complaint tells the story:
CRYSTAL SHELTON, and her minor child, I.S., a child with food allergies, were traveling from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Tampa, Florida when ALLEGIANT AIR, LLC denied accommodation, humiliated the mother and child for having requested disability accommodations, and then removed them from the plane for which they had purchased tickets stranding them in Tennessee. In so doing, ALLEGIANT AIR, LLC violated the Air Carrier Access Act and the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights.
The complaint alleges that on July 7, Shelton and her son arrived at the gate for Allegiant flight 205 from Chattanooga to Tampa.
The son, identified as IS, is severely allergic to tree nuts — specifically pistachios and cashews — which place him at significant risk for anaphylaxis. His latest brush with anaphylactic shock occurred just five months earlier in February.
She notified the gate agent of the son’s allergy history, and he agreed to note the information. She also inquired whether the carrier would be serving the nuts on the flight of which the agent was unsure and promised to check. He halted boarding while he inquired of the flight staff and returned to say that cashews would indeed be served.
Shelton asked if cashews could not be served on the flight, to which the agent instructed her to discuss the matter with a flight attendant.
After she and her son boarded, she notified a flight attendant of her son’s allergies and asked whether the crew could refrain from serving cashews. The attendant agreed.
But another flight attendant identified as “Chloe” who overheard the conversation became visibly enraged and informed Shelton that cashews would indeed be served.
When Shelton explained that the accommodation for the disability was for her son, the first attendant reiterated that nuts would not be served, but Chloe began loudly mocking the mother and son.
After Shelton and her son took their seats, Chloe began ranting that she would serve cashews and approached them with an iPad, ranting that Allegiant’s allergy policy was “right there in black and white” and Shelton “was just too stupid to read it.”
Chloe was heard saying that she was paid to serve cashews and would get paid for that flight, making other statements like, “I am going to get them off this plane.”
At this point, the pair were seated silently with tears rolling down the boy’s face. He whispered to his mom that he was scared of what Chloe might do.
A short time later, a gate agent appeared onboard. Shelton overheard him say, “I cannot remove them unless they are unruly,” and left. Chloe responded loudly, “I’m going to get them off this flight.”
Chloe was heard saying that flight attendants earn commissions for selling snacks and that she wanted the family removed.
The gate agent returned and approached Shelton, explaining that all snacks on the
plane were stored together. Shelton responded that “it wasn’t a problem” because
her son would not eat anything being served on the plane. He replied, “You don’t
seem unruly.” She confirmed that they were not being unruly, and the gate agent again departed.
Sometime later, the agent returned a third time and told Shelton that she and her son were being removed from the flight because the captain had deemed them “unruly” and the agent had to follow orders.
At the gate, in a recorded conversation, the agent confirmed that the mother and son had not been unruly, but the flight crew had invented a claim to have them removed. It took an hour for their bags to be removed from the flight as they stood by.
The gate agent said that they could be rebooked on the next flight to Tampa but that it was scheduled to depart two days later.
Despite paying for Flight 205, Shelton was forced to book a flight from another carrier departing from Atlanta the following day, rent a car to drive through the night, and pay for a hotel.
When she asked Allegiant to refund the cost of her original flight, they refused. Later the carrier offered her credit toward another flight, not an option based on how they were treated.
The complaint asks that Allegiant be found to have discriminated in violation of the Air Carrier Access Act, and seeks the carrier be fined, mandated to have their employees undergo training, compensate the Shelton’s for the airfare and subsequent expenses, and reimburse the family for compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and costs.
The family is being represented by Mary Vargas, a well-known attorney specializing in disability discrimination.
