Why This Woman With a Disability Was Forced to Miss Her Flight
A wheelchair-user was forced to miss Christmas with her family because the airplane she was to fly on was inaccessible.
Ericka Jones, from Rochester, New York, was headed home to Florida on Christmas day when Allegiant airlines representatives informed her the jet bridge to the plane was broken, News 10 reported. Passengers had to walk up steps to board the plane from the outside, which Jones couldn’t do.
She had to spend the night in a hotel in Buffalo and take a flight out the next morning.
“I’m mortified,” she told News 10. “This should not have happened. This should not happen to anyone.”
Allegiant told the outlet all other alternative solutions of boarding the plane were unavailable, however the Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) said not all of the airport’s 21 gates were being used at the time and an alternate jet bridge could have been used.
Get more on the story from the video below:
The Mighty reached out to both Allegiant and the Greater Rochester International Airport for comment but have yet to hear back.
Clarification: A previous version of this story included a screen shot from the news video of a Southwest plane. The airline in question was from Allegiant Airlines and the photo has been changed.
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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