ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com/CNN) — Southwest Airlines said they were following the law when their employees stopped a boy with autism from flying at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
On Sunday, Cody and Paige Petek and their two kids were set to fly back to Des Moines, Iowa after their vacation in Florida. During a layover in St. Louis, their 5-year-old child, who is non-verbal and also has a sensory processing disorder, struggled to wear a mask.
Other passengers lobbied for the child to board but the crew refused. Dr. Vince Hassel was also flying back to Iowa and witnessed the ordeal.
“They weren’t going to let the kid on the plane if he didn’t put this mask on. You know, so he kind of had a bandana around his neck, and he just wasn’t having it and throwing a fit,” Hassel said. “And, just to watch this play out was absolutely horrible.”
As this was all playing out, the boy had a seizure but his medication was on board the flight. What should have been an hour plane ride turned into a five and a half hour drive in a rental car.
Southwest’s website says, “refusing to wear a mask is a violation of federal law and may result in denial of boarding.” TSA policy states that people with disabilities who cannot wear a mask because of the disability are exempt from having to wear one.
The Peteks’ lawyer, Anthony Marchetti Jr., believes Southwest Airlines violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“There’s clear guidance from the Department of Transportation about what the airlines should do. None of that happened here,” said Marchetti.
Southwest’s employees offered to book a hotel for the family so the boy could try again the following day. When they chose to drive, the airline issued them a full refund.
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