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Friday, January 02, 2015

Parents of child with special needs humiliated on United Airlines flight

A New Jersey mother of four accused United Airlines of humiliating her and her family on a recent flight from the Dominican Republic to Newark, New Jersey. Elit Kirschenbaum said a flight attendant refused to allow her 3-year-old daughter, who has special needs, to sit on her lap. Elit and her husband gave CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano an inside look at the ordeal.

"My little baby is sitting there on my lap, not hurting a fly, she can't walk by herself, she can't sit by herself and here is this woman who just is standing behind the law without putting humanity into the situation," Kirschenbaum said. "It was really heartbreaking."

Elit Kirschenbaum sat her 3-year-old daughter Ivy on her lap for their United Airlines flight home as she's done many times before. Ivy suffered a stroke in the womb and even though a seat had been purchased for her, she couldn't sit upright in that seat on her own.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rule breaking should not make the news.Now some degree of a settlement will follow and the flight attendant will most likely lose her job.The child's special needs could be met better on a cruise ship.The parents needed to be humiliated.If time constraints or money issues do not make a cruise ship feasible the child should not travel period.

Anonymous said...

As a parent I would have called the airline to find out the policy before booking my tickets. For each flight I took..even if it was the same airline so they were aware of the situation. And I knew what to expect.

Anonymous said...

So, Citizens should lose sleep over non-citizens? Obama already has enough basket cases to last years so why do we want to get involved with more?

Anonymous said...

Every airline needs to follow the same law that says children need to be in a car seat! Traveling in a plane doing 400 MPH really demands a need for a car seat! Then there is the deal with what are the parents going to do when they leave the airport? You need a car seat to transport your child anyway.

Anonymous said...

Wha wha wha wha. Get over it

Anonymous said...

@8:10. What? This is a New Jersey couple flying home from vacation. Read the comment above yours...that makes more sense.

Anonymous said...

Who in the hell really cares , spill a cup of coffee on your lap , better success with your law suit.
Take a bus or train the next time.

Anonymous said...

11:40-I understand 8:10's comment.I think he/she is referring to the original destination,which is not a typical travel destination unless one has family there or is FROM there.Haiti comprises 1/2 of that island.

Anonymous said...

Now "Humiliation" is a crime?