A woman with a rare skin condition was removed from a flight at Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). According to KTLA, “Brianna Solari, a nurse from Sacramento, had flown to L.A. to undergo a specialized surgery for tumors caused by a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis. The condition causes non-cancerous tumors to grow all over the skin and nervous system.”
On her return Southwest Airlines flight home on August 1 from BUR, Solari made sure to cover up with a face mask and headband. She told KTLA, “I’m aware of how I look with all of these scabs on me. I know it’s unpleasant. I suffer from a genetic illness and I got surgery to improve my appearance and self-esteem.”
The devastating part for her is that after Solari boarded the plane and sat down, she was approached by an airline crewmember who asked her to leave. According to Solari, the crew member “said there were some concerns about whether or not I had any kind of communicable disease. “He mentioned chickenpox specifically.”
I can appreciate Southwest’s concerns because as someone who is very observant and a bona fide germaphobe, I wouldn’t want to sit next to someone with a communicable disease … or someone coughing, for that matter.
However, if it wasn’t communicable, I would have no problem. Solari said she was escorted to the boarding gate where she explained her rare medical condition. She told agents, “Essentially, I lack a protein which is a tumor suppressor and that causes tumors to grow under and on the skin, along nerves.” She also said she told the employees she had just received surgery and her condition was not contagious. She even offered to show the discharge paperwork from the hospital but she was denied.
After finally getting clearance from her doctor to the airport physician, she was able to get on a flight but it wasn’t until five hours later. Solari said, “It was embarrassing, it was humiliating. It’s absolutely shameful what they did. This is no way to treat somebody.”
Southwest Airlines released a statement on the incident saying: “We are disheartened to learn of the Customer’s experience flying with us and extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience. Even though our Team ultimately received clearance for the Customer to travel, we weren’t able to do so in time for the flight’s departure. We rebooked her on a later flight, offered a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher, and we’re following up with her directly to discuss the situation.” Watch the full video below:
This is a tough call for an airline with so many people who board planes with communicable diseases and don’t care about others. I had to cancel our trip to Europe in June because the day before our flight to Paris, I came down with hand, foot and mouth. However, if Solari had a doctor’s note from a reputable physician, the airline should have honored it.
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It can be tough these days, it’s so easy to judge actions in hindsight.