Woman in wheelchair left alone at Chicago airport overnight after flight canceled

[Demovictory9]

http://www.trbimg.com/img-5c0592e0/turbine/ct-1543869148-1ey7ark1wr-snap-image/750/750x422

Olimpia Warsaw has Parkinson's disease and diabetes and uses a wheelchair because she has trouble walking. Warsaw traveled from Detroit to Chicago for her ex-husband's funeral, and right away things went wrong, her family says. Her luggage was lost and she ended up missing part of the service as a result.

Then on her way back home to Detroit, Warsaw experienced an even worse travel nightmare. Her family told CBS Chicago an airport porter left her alone in her wheelchair overnight after her flight was canceled.

Claude Coltea said he and his mom went to the airport together after his father's funeral last week. "I walked with her all the way to her gate," he told the station. "I confirmed with the gate agent that the flight was on time. Everything was OK. She said, 'Yup, all's fine. We'll take good care of your mom.'" Coltea then went to his gate for a flight leaving shortly after his mother's flight was supposed to depart.

But it turned out, Warsaw's flight was not going to depart. It was canceled.

Coltea said American Airlines assigned a porter to take Warsaw back to the front of the airport. She was offered a hotel room since her flight was canceled, but they weren't willing to take her there. Warsaw has trouble communicating and couldn't arrange her own transportation to the hotel.

Instead of helping, the porter told her his shift was over and he couldn't do anything. Then her family says he just left her there.

"She actually had to find a random passenger to help her out just to go to the bathroom because the porters had already left for the night," Warsaw's other son, Julian Coltea, told CBS Chicago.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-in-wheelchair-left-alone-ohare-airport-overnight-after-flight-canceled/

[LakeArenal]

1. What is wrong with people? Terrible.

Heartbreaking.

[madaboutharry]

2. Too many people are selfish and don't care.

Not one person employed at the airport asked her if she needed help. Poor woman, she must have been hungry as well.

[msongs]

3. alternatively, if your mom is in a wheelchair stay with her til the flight boards n leaves nt

[Neema]

7. Yeah, not excusing American at all but I always stayed with my mom

until she boarded her flight. It's also incredibly easy to track flights on your phone, so there's no reason not to know status updates. The airline industry has us all over a barrel because it's the only way to travel quickly and easily. There isn't a single one I'd consider awesome (though some are truly awful).

Yesterday we were waiting to board a flight (also on American) when a porter came up with a guy in a wheelchair. The guy in the wheelchair appeared to be very fit, if I had to guess probably just had surgery or a recent injury. Anyway, the porter rolling him up to the gate was a middle-aged woman who could barely walk herself. I found it awfully strange that they would have her doing that job. I'm sure if this guy had fallen, he probably could have used his upper body strength to hoist himself back in the chair, but if he'd been severely disabled the woman pushing him would have been no help.

[diva77]

4. Her FAMILY should have had a CARETAKER for her!!! This, IMHO is elder abuse

to leave a disabled woman on her own - she probably required assistance on the airplane and that should not be left up to the airline to handle.

Shame on her family.

[Squinch]

6. I agree. You don't just send someone like that off on a trip alone.

[RobinA]

10. Absolutely!

It’s hard enough to negotiate air travel if you are able bodied and can communicate perfectly. I can’t imagine leaving someone like this to go it alone.

[StarryNite]

5. Oh, no!

[ellie]

8. I hate flying through O'Hare

[Yavin4]

9. Someone in her family should have flown with her

I blame her family more than the airline. Porters cannot work past their shifts.