Delta Air Lines has issued an apology after the airline allegedly bumped a passenger with Parkinson's disease from first class to economy seating to accommodate a pilot on a flight departing from Atlanta, Georgia.
In a viral video posted by TikTok user @clumsyophelia on June 4, the passenger's daughter said her parents booked first-class tickets for a family trip to Italy to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The poster said, "my mother has Parkinson's disease and my father just had heart surgery, so they needed the extra room."
But this "once-in-a-lifetime trip" was "ruined" when her mom—"who has mobility issues and struggles when she is in confined tight spaces"—was told she was "getting bumped to coach [economy class]" because a pilot "needs the seat," according to the poster.
A Delta spokesperson told Newsweek: "Delta teams made contact with these customers in early June and reached out to apologize, make amends, get baggage expedited to them and ensure that their return travel went smoothly."
Citing "extenuating circumstances resulting from a change to a slightly smaller aircraft [on] their first flight," the spokesperson said "this is an uncommon occurrence and we echo our apology for what transpired."
The latest incident comes as air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. Total passenger traffic globally is "now at 84.2 percent of January 2019 levels," said a March 2023 report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The TSA (Transport Security Administration) received 38 airline-related complaints, such as baggage requirements, lost baggage, policy/regulations, and wheelchair assistance, in March 2023. This is in the latest Air Travel Consumer Report by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The poster said that, while they were boarding the plane, her mom was called over by airline staff who said "she can no longer sit in first class."
The Delta Air Lines worker allegedly told the mom: "We have a pilot [who] needs the seat... so you're getting bumped to coach."
In a later video, the poster said this flight had been "oversold for weeks" and "the pilot told my dad he had been given my mom's seat for days." Yet her mother wasn't alerted until she got on the plane.
The poster and her sister tried to explain their mom's health condition to the staff, but "they did not care," the TikTok user said. "In fact, the woman at the gate looked at my sister and said, 'I'm not going to talk to you when you're emotional'."
@clumsyophelia Youll notice I'm in a robe because I have no clothes. 😀 #travel #parkinsons #deltaairlines #delta #millennial
♬ original sound - JoJo
The poster had her mom sit in her husband's Comfort Plus seat, "which is barely better than coach," while the husband sat in the back of the plane.
The poster said that her mom "did not sleep [during the flight] and she was in a massive amount of pain when the plane landed." She added that the incident caused her father "a lot of stress and upset us all... I was livid."
The passenger also said, when the flight landed in Italy, she found out that her bag had been left behind "on the Tarmac in Atlanta." This left her with no clothes to wear, according to the viral clip.
The poster said she contacted the airline but was told she "can't have any money to buy clothes or toiletries" and can't be refunded the money she paid to check the bag.
The airline allegedly refused to refund her mom's ticket, saying they can offer her the price difference in the form of credit. "I have never been treated so poorly by a company... I am speechless..." the poster said.
The Delta spokesperson replied: "Delta people understand that all of our customers have important reasons for traveling and we strive to make things right when we come up short."
In a later video shared on June 13, the poster said "everything was lovely" on the family's return journey to the U.S. A Delta staff member met them at their connecting flight in Atlanta to help with their onward journey, according to the poster. She said: "I got the info about repayment for the stuff I had to buy when my luggage was lost yesterday as well.
"So I am satisfied now with Delta's apology and their explanation and how they handled everything," the daughter added.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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