Here’s a tough story that requires our compassion but at the same time some discernment. Just what was United Airlines supposed to do when an autistic teenager had a meltdown on a flight from Aruba to Newark?
The incident occurred on May 17, 2022. A family of five was boarding a United Airlines flight from Aruba (AUA) to Newark (EWR). 15-year-old Elijah, who has autism, had a “sensory episode” while boarding. He stopped at the aircraft and door and screamed “toilet.” His mother told NJ.com:
“I gave him gentle nudge and we made it to our seats, then he lost control. He refused to sit, and Jamie and I had to hold him down. Something caused him to be overwhelmed, and he began to hit Jamie and me and continued screaming.”
Flight attendants asked the family, citing the determination of the captain, to exit the aircraft. The family complied, but also gave Elijah medication prescribed by their doctor for use if he became agitated.
The medicine did not work: there was no change in his behavior.
The family determined that Elijah could not go back on this flight or any other flight, fearing it would trigger another episode. They reached out to a medical evacuation company, which refused to help. Eventually, three of the five family members returned to New Jersey (the kids had to get back to school), leaving behind Elijah and his mother.
Days later, an employee at Carnival Cruise Line stumbled upon the family’s plight, which they posted about on Facebook, and reached out. In cooperation with KultureCity, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusion and acceptance for those with invisible disabilities, Carnival arranged for a ship enroute to Miami to divert to Aruba to pick up Elijah and his mother.
From Miami, the two drove north to New Jersey.
Happy ending, right? But the family is not happy. Elijah’s mother lamented:
“Policies have to change. I understand that airlines must follow safety protocols, but something like this should have never happened.
“Airlines should treat invisible disabilities the same way they treat visible disabilities. Invisible disabilities include autism, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, ADHD, strokes and other mental health challenges.”
She wished United would have presented an alternate plan to return them home rather than leaving them to fend for themselves.
But what was United supposed to do? The family very clearly recognized that Elijah could not fly. It’s not like United or any other carrier banned them. Perhaps United could have offered to let the family try again the next day, but the screaming and thrashing and hitting becomes a safety risk not only to the family but to others onboard. Furthermore, it was the family who determined Elijah could not fly.
As delicate as this situation is, I think asking United to arrange alternate transportation is a bit much. What policies have to change? Whether invisible or visible, United or any airline is not going to transport a passenger who is uncontrollably screaming or hitting others. We should be thankful for that.
After a teenager had an autistic incident onboard a United flight from Aruba to Newark, the teen and his mother were forced to find a different way back to New York. Carnival Cruise Line came through, transporting the two safety back to Florida. But the family somehow thinks United could have done more: I’m just not sure what that is, beyond displaying empathy for what was a very difficult situation.
Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.
United did nothing wrong here. Frankly I’m rather stunned that knowing what they did the family chose not to pick up some form of supplementary insurance that would have covered a private flight for medical reasons. This can’t be a new situation and surely there are additional preparations that can be made in advance. That’s on the family, not the airline.
You’re right the family should have had that magical insurance that you’re talking about
I can’t imagine how hard it was for that family. They’re not going to be able to fly anywhere.
Agree United did nothing wrong. Ultimately, it’s the behavior and not the reason behind it, A neurotypical passenger that behaved,like that would end up meeting the police.
I suspect UA will expand their definition of medically unfit to fly and it won’t look good on the news.
I’m trying to understand what the mother means when she says policies have to change? It was the family who deem that this son was unfit to fly not United Airlines. I feel for the family, traveling with autistic child can not be easy but it is not the airlines responsibility to come up with and provide you with an alternative form of transportation to get home, that is your responsibility as a parent. Obviously they new this might be a problem because they had prescribe medication from their doctor but the medication which was supposed to calm him down didn’t work.
So United is wrong because the family determined their son could not fly, the airline didn’t provide alternative transportation, the medication that was supposed to calm him down didn’t work, and they didn’t have a back up plan, this is ridiculous. United did nothing wrong.
Its not invisible if the person is screaming and hitting even if those hit are family.
I wonder if a diazepam lozenge(s) would have gotten the family through the flight.
What’s the difference between this boy flying and a child flying? The only difference is his size and age. Yes, the mother is right. United needed to find them a way home. Perhaps the next day, a flight? He couldn’t fly that day, but they need to get him home. I’m fine with them charging fare for the flights, but United needs to get this child home.
People with autism do not generally get violent toward others. That’s not in their nature at all. They might disrupt, or yell, but they do not generally present themselves as violent, although there are some exceptions to that, in which case we have to look at it differently. I’ve been hit by an autistic child, and it’s not fun, but it’s not the norm.
United prides themselves on being more inclusive, and the first thing this needs to include is to include others who have disabilities, visible or not.
You didn’t read very carefully.
“*The family* determined that Elijah could not go back on this flight *or any other flight*”
The family said they didn’t want to fly. Do you expect an airline to charter a cruise ship for the child? A hot air balloon? What?
“People with autism do not generally get violent toward others.”
Well, this kid did. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.
Someone didn’t read the article because it clearly states the FAMILY determined he could not fly on the scheduled fight or any other flight. They made that determination NOT United Airlines, so what exactly is United’s responsibility in all of this? United is an airline if your son can’t fly the onus does not fall onto United Airlines to figure out how to get you home simply because you find yourself in Aruba with limited options on how to get home to the United States. It is unfortunate and I feel for the family because everyone deserves a vacation but United is not at fault in this situation.
I do not have any children, let alone an autistic one. But the reality is that when you have a child that has a disability, some things will become harder to achieve and others impossible. Flying with a nearly full-sized human who at times can become violent may be one of those things. The mother in this story is upset that United did nothing to get them *back* from Aruba. But it needs to be remembered that this family chose chose to fly *to* Aruba in the first place. They took a calculated risk that their son would be OK – and he wasn’t. The responsibility to recover from this mess is upon those who chose the risk in the first place, not UA.
One final thought: many people are quick to worry about the family with the disabled child. But it is worth remembering that the other passengers have rights, too. The calculated risk that this one family took actually had all the passengers roped into this casino game.
It’s hard to know what to make of that situation. Perhaps there are details we don’t know about. If the family has determined that he cannot fly on ANY flight, I don’t see why an airline would be expected to help you beyond perhaps issuing a refund for the unused portion of the travel.
I do feel bad for the family– suddenly stuck in Aruba. The way travel is these days, getting back to the US from Aruba without flying is a pretty big challenge.
There are several other articles that were just published about this that do a much better job explaining things than what liveandletsfly has done. In several other article the family stated they’ve gone on many vacations before but all of them except one their mode of transportation was driving their car. According to several other article the family stated last year when they took their vacation they went to Disney and it was the first time they had flown as a family for vacation. They said everything went well on those flights so they thought they were okay to fly to Aruba for vacation this year. According to other articles the mother and her autistic son were stuck in Aruba for nearly one month. They reached out to the US Consulate in Aruba for help but the mother advised the US Consulate her son couldn’t fly because the medication prescribed wasn’t working according to several article the US Consulate ran out of ideas on how to get them home. They reached out to a medical evacuation company but were turned down when they learned his medication wasn’t working. Also several cruise lines turn them down and it wasn’t until the mother took to social media and got the public involved that Carnival decided to step up and help out., but prior to that Even cruise lines had turned them down. So how exactly was an airline like United supposed to get these people home when the mother refused to fly home because her sons medication was not working?
Why liveandlestsfly decided publish the article the way did makes me question the authors motives, because clearly there is more to this story than what was publish on this website. I just wish liveandletsfly would have published the whole truth, the whole story and not edit the story the way they did.
What exactly is your point? I have no idea why you are complaining about details I did not deem relevant to the story. I think we are both in agreement that there probably nothing United could have done better.
As you noted, “So how exactly was an airline like United supposed to get these people home when the mother refused to fly home because her sons medication was not working?”
She might be in heat
What are you their publicist? You have got to be joking….. what does all that blather you regurgitated have to do with this incident? You could teach a master class on wasting time.
United runs an airline….once the family decided that they couldn’t fly on United they released United of any responsibility. This ‘mother’ sounds like a nightmare, and an entitled one at that. Why did she share so much information? What did that have to do with her decision that her son couldn’t fly? What was United supposed to do? Charter a plane just for the mother and child? I imagine that’s what she would have liked…..good luck with that.
And of course a cruise ship jumped on the PR for this…..they’ll do anything to get people back into the COVID-19 factories. Lots of those nasty rooms never see natural light and are just breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria.
It’s unfortunate that this child has autism, and had an incident. But the idea that just by purchasing a ticket entitles the bearer to any form of travel is really stretching it. And you attacking LiveandLetFly is ridiculous.
I am the mom of an autistic adult. When my son was underage any sort of travel took a lot of planning on my part as his parent. It involved his medical professionals and all scenarios to be considered. There is no “wait and see” when you’re dealing with autism. We had a careful plan which included medication, role playing and flexibility. Our flights were successful due to careful attention to detail. No way was the airline, it’s personnel or passengers ever part of or responsible for his care. As an adult, he can travel independently with someone seeing him to and from the gate, which we provide. The airline and passengers should never be held responsible for special situations.
Ms. Eisemann – thank you for providing an adult description of the issues and solutions to the problem of traveling with an autistic child. It is refreshing to read a posting on point to the problem, rather than the rantings of those such as Koggerj, Susan, Random Gawande, and Dave Edwards (“done a few lines”?).
Should have just sat him next to the Points Guy, they could have done a few lines and it would have relaxed him.
Personally I think it’s selfish to take the kid to Aruba knowing this is a potential issue. Assuming the family wanted it so much they took the risk for the other kids. Sesame Place is close to home for them.
Wow Carnival!! You got my respect.
What does the family expect United to do? Carry a straight-jacket on the plane, bundle the kid in it and lock him in the cargo hold?
Pretty entitled parents. What a shock…
Another instance where the family popped out 3 kids and is incapable of taking care of the kids independently.
Castrate the loser, the father, first before we discuss anything else.
There is nothing wrong with “ableism”. Retards are defective humans and it’s why we have abortion.
https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/navigate-yvr/accessibility-at-yvr/autism-travel-resources https://www.yvr.ca/en/media/news-releases/2022/can-accessibility-tour
YVR has wonderful resources for families, annually they support an accessibility day which includes a short haul flight around Vancouver provided by Air North. Autistic children experience going through security and take off and landing, support staff is also available! The event is huge success and hopefully can be model at other airports.
The abelism in both this article and the responses are abhorrent.
Rather than providing useless meta-discussion about other posters, perhaps you can outline what United should have done?
There is nothing wrong with “ableism”. Retards are defective humans and it’s why we have abortion.
Retards should be banned from planes
Don’t forget screaming brats and morbidly obese Trumptards!
To reiterate, it was a safety of flight issue. The family agreed the child should not fly. There is nothing else United could do. I don’t see what the family suggested as an alternative. A medical ambulance or private flight is not United’s responsibility, but the family’s.
I feel for the family, which thought things would be okay. But they weren’t. That is the family’s mistake, not United’s. Mistakes happen. And it seems like the family dealt with it. Good.
When booking a United flight, or a flight of any US carrier, last time I checked, there is no prompt asking if anyone with autism is travelling. Therefore, United has no way of knowing that a child has autism. This would hold true if they flew Delta as well.
This writer’s work is more about psgrs than the plane or airline. Wtf cares. Perhaps the writer is paid by the boring word or click.
What is the name of the lawfirm that encouraged the family to try and get a 250k settlement from UA out of this? Possibly for subsequent vacation in Bora-Bora.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/united-airlines-boy-autism-flight-wellness/index.html
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