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US Airways Treatment of Quadriplegic "Disappointing and Callous"

February 24, 2005

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Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist says US Airways' explanation for its removal of a quadriplegic passenger is "both disappointing and callous and raises more questions than it answers."

On February 12, US Airways removed Phil Barrett from Flight 94. In a letter to Mr. Barrett, the company says his removal from the flight was justified "and in full accordance with the law."

Barrett, who relies on a ventilator to breathe, was on his way to have surgery in Ohio designed to allow him to breathe on his own.

The letter follows Crist's subpoena to US Airways under the Marvin Davies Civil Rights Act seeking records that guided the company's decision to deny passage to Barrett. The Attorney General wrote to US Airways President and CEO Bruce Lakefield upon learning of the incident.

Crist's subpoena compels the airline to produce, among other things, copies of all documents relating to polices for denying passage to persons with disabilities; employee training for dealing with passengers with disabilities; policies and procedures for responding to requests for accommodations by passengers with disabilities; copies of all complaints by passengers with disabilities since January 2003, as well as the disposition of those complaints; and various documents specifically related to the decision to deny passage to Mr. Barrett.

"Mr. Barrett was humiliated, and we join him in wanting to know why," said Crist. "He has flown on several occasions since his accident, yet this was the only time he was not only denied a seat, but was physically removed from the one the airline provided."

The Attorney General's subpoena was issued pursuant to Florida's Civil Rights Act, Chapter 760, Part III, Florida Statutes. The subpoena is part of the Attorney General's investigation into possible civil rights violations concerning the business practices, policies and procedures of US Airways, Inc., regarding persons with disabilities.

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