A New Jersey mother named Melissa Sotomayor has accused United Airlines crew members of having asked her to disconnect her son's life-saving ventilator before the plane could take off. Her son, Noah, was born with a rare medical condition that forced him to use a ventilator to breathe, which makes the alleged request outrageous.
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Sotomayor shared her story through a TikTok video that has since gone viral. According to the Daily Mail, the incident took place earlier in March on United Airlines flight UA1349 flying from Tampa to Newark. Several crew members told Sotomayor she needed to disconnect her son's life-saving ventilator before the plane could take off.
"My son is dependent upon a trach and ventilator," Sotomayor explained in the video. "And they told me I needed to take him off it. I told them that equipment is what's keeping him alive."
Further Insistence
Melissa Sotomayor was astonished by the request. She claimed that she was able to fly without any issues in the past, even flying United. However, the crew members' requests were incessant, with more staff pressuring her to comply.
"I worked with their team. I provided all required documentation. Everything was cleared," Sotomayor added. "And still, they told me to take him off the vent."
Sotomayor even claimed that one of the crew members told her, "He'll be okay until we're in the air at a high enough altitude." The situation soon caused outrage inside the plane, with many other passengers defending Sotomayor, accusing the staff of harassment.
Moreover, after she was told she would need to switch seats, the captain even allegedly taxied the aircraft for over an hour. As per Sotomayor, this was an attempt to make her comply or even exit the flight.
"He didn't even come back to tell me if we were going to fly," Sotomayor added. "He just got on the speaker and said we were cleared for takeoff."
Backlash And Legal Action
Sotomayor's TikTok video went viral, garnering 1.3 million views and more than 11 thousand comments. The comment section was flooded by outraged users who, among other things, called for a boycott of the airline as well as encouraging Sotomayor to take legal action.
"They can't dictate your son's medical care!" one user wrote. "The documentation?? Who would have their child on a ventilator for funnies?!? I'm so sorry this happened to you!" a second user wrote. A third commented, "So we boycott United Airlines? Seems like the only way we can get a point across these days is stop paying these people."
United Airlines, when contacted by the Daily Mail, shared a statement, briefly addressing the incident. "We've connected with the customer to address her concerns and apologized for any frustration she may have experienced," the statement reads.
Melissa Sotomayor claims that United Airlines corporate contacted her and said that they insisted that the crew members' request to disconnect her son's ventilator was due to the bulk of the overhead compartment. However, Sotomayor contested this and plans to take legal action against United Airlines.
Moreover, she has since started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to hire an attorney. She even contacted the Department of Transportation. Sotomayor in turn received an automated message that said that they would take up to a couple of months to get back to her, given they are backlogged.
"This wasn't just a mistake," Sotomayor insisted. "This was a complete disregard for my son's life and our dignity. I'm not going to let this go. They need to be held accountable - not just for Noah, but for every family who's been made to feel like they don't belong."
That got me to thinking: without assigned seating how does Southwest track anyone misbehaving on board. I realize eventually they would be able to figure it out but assigned seats has lots of advantages and I can't think of one advantage for the open seating concept. "Would the naked femaile passenger who reportedly just took a dump on a seat please ring your attendant call button and let us know who you are? Thank you so much". Here's a joke the Southwest flight attendants can tell their passengers in the future (you know how hilarious they are): "How do you reserve a seat on a Southwest flight? Take a huge Stanley Steamer on it". "I vill be here all ze week".
That absolutely shocking! I can believe Southwest took a plane out of service, just because a seat was covered in feces. ?
Don't blame her: she probably thought she was on a Spirit Airlines flight.
what has flying come to???
I usually have to pay extra for this...
I can say from personal experience, sometimes it happens when it happens... Usually a mile after starting a strenuous hike just after I tried in the outhouse at the trailhead...
Mislead headline. I f she defecated on the seat she didn't "use the bathroom ".
Didn't know Kamaltoe was stooping to fly commercial these days
She must have taken an Ambian.
when u got to go u got to go!
Evidently she was given a "shitty Seat."