United Airlines Denied Mom Access To Infant's Medical Supplies During Delay, Woman Claims

A Virginia woman claimed this week that she was denied access to medical supplies she needed for her 18-month-old special needs son by United Airlines staff following a delay on a Norfolk-bound flight.

Shelby Davis, 24, said that airline officials during the delay denied her requests for access to her checked baggage, which contained needed formula for her son. After repeated requests, she was reportedly told she could retrieve her luggage from baggage claim but would not be allowed to reboard, which stranded the family in Chicago as they awaited another flight.

The Virginia Beach mother said that her infant son, Easton, suffered from chromosomal conditions that delayed his development and caused him breathing issues, the Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday. After spending the weekend visiting Davis’ boyfriend, the two were on their way home from O'Hare International Airport Monday evening when their flight was delayed due to a mechanical issue.

“United Flight 1735 from Chicago O’Hare to Norfolk required a new aircraft following a mechanical issue with the initial aircraft,” the airline told International Business Times in a statement. “During the delay, a customer requested that we retrieve her checked baggage as it contained supplies for her son. Due to the aircraft change, our customer had to retrieve her checked bag at baggage claim, which prevented her from flying to Norfolk.”

The airline said it put Davis on “the next flight to Norfolk” and issued her a refund. It did not provide any additional details about the incident or how it was being handled internally.

As it was the first time Davis had traveled with her son, she said she brought enough formula and the necessary equipment to hold them over until Norfolk. But Davis left an extension for the feeding tube as well as extra formula in the family’s checked luggage, and the flight delay meant she would need more formula for her son. She said he had become “pretty fussy” and was “chewing on his fingers and crying and sweating” because he was getting hungry.

Davis claimed that despite her requests that United Airlines staff allow her access to her baggage, the airline refused. Gate staff reportedly told her the request defied the carrier’s safety policies. When a supervisor got involved, Davis was told that she could go get her luggage herself but that she would not be able to reboard the flight.

Davis opted to retrieve her luggage before later spending the night with her boyfriend to await a new flight. According to the Virginian-Pilot, Davis arrived Tuesday evening and missed a day of work worth $100 in wages. She also claimed she was hung up on several times the following day because representatives for the airline didn’t like her “tone.” Davis said that she’ll opt to drive over flying next trip.

Remarkably, Monday’s incident involving Davis and her son was not the first time the airline failed to accommodate a special needs child. A family whose daughter suffered from Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy claimed in January that the girl — who could not sit up on her own and was extremely small her for age of 2 — was forced to be strapped in across her family’s laps lying down after a single flight attendant failed to make an exception for the girl, as per United Airlines policy if a passenger cannot sit up on his or her own.

United Airlines has faced no shortage of public relations headaches as of recent, with its most public incident this year being one in April when Dr. David Dao was bloodied and dragged off of an overbooked flight after refusing to forfeit his seat.