A passenger on a Delta flight said the airline mistreated him due to his hearing impairment, Fox News reports.
- The passenger, named Andre Hilton, said he was wearing a face mask on the plane, per company policy. But it fell beneath his nose. He was asked by a flight attendant to fix the mask. But he said he didn’t hear the attendant because of his hearing impairment. He was later removed from the plane.
Hilton said he has two hearing aids in his ears, according to WSB-TV 2. He said he had to constantly fix his mask, so he was surprised when an attendant reached out to him.
Hilton posted a video of the incident on Instagram.
- “I’ve never felt so humiliated, hurt and frustrated to be treated this way! @delta the treatment and bribery i received at the hands of your staff was unacceptable!”
Hilton said the situation escalated and he was removed from the flight. He was put on a flight later in the day, and he was reimbursed by Delta. And Delta CEO Ed Bastian sent him an apology.
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Delta told WSB-TV 2 the experience was “atypical.”
- “As part of our many apologies and exchanges with this customer about his very atypical experience last month, we fully refunded his airfare in addition to other gestures of goodwill. Our teams continue to be in touch with his attorney.
- “Our deep-seated values of diversity and inclusion of all groups in the world we serve extend especially to our customers with disabilities, as evidenced by Delta’s Advisory Board on Disability,” the statement continued. ”In place for more than a decade, this Delta board consists of individuals with unique insight as both Delta frequent flyers and who each are experts on a variety of disabilities. This group continues to advise Delta on how we can continue to provide thoughtful and safe service to customers with disabilities.”