The parents of an 8-year-old autistic boy spoke out against Southwest Airlines for denying them boarding over their son’s inability to keep his mask on.
Megan Kitze-Ward and her husband, Matt, along with two children, were traveling from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, when the gate agent stopped them, allegedly concerned about their son’s mask.
“Well this will be the only picture we get from this trip,” Kitze-Ward posted on Facebook. “Southwest Airlines denied [my son] to go to the gate because of his disability.”
FAMILY KICKED OFF SPIRIT FLIGHT BECAUSE 4-YEAR-OLD WITH AUTISM WASN’T WEARING MASK
The family’s only option was to split up, with Kitze-Ward boarding the plane with her daughter while leaving her husband and son behind.
“Even though I watched priority list white men go through no mask,” Kitze-Ward wrote. “Because even with a doctors note. And a mask on. He didn’t have a two week prior approval for improper mask wearing that I was NEVER told I needed.”
This “Autism Mom,” as she calls herself, expressed in another post nervousness the day before about flying with her son.
“Hoping for smooth travels with my bud,” the post reads. “I want him to see the world.”
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Southwest confirmed that the family received a partial refund and that an internal investigation will be conducted.
