Airline removes four-year-old with autism from flight for not wearing face mask

‘I’ve never in my life experienced that kind of discrimination from someone,’ says child’s mother

A four-year-old boy with autism was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight in the US because he was not wearing a face mask.

The child’s mother, Callie Kimball, told KTVH-TV on Monday that her family was kicked off a flight from Las Vegas to Arkansas on Monday.

Ms Kimball said that her son, who is non-verbal and has autism, had a note from his physician with him that explained that “he’s exempt from wearing masks because whenever he wears a mask he holds his breath or he starts freaking out and he will harm himself”.

She then claimed that when her husband showed staff the note, a crew member replied: “’No no no. Autism’s not a disability. He has to wear a mask or he has to get off the plane.’”

The family were removed from the plane at a layover in Dallas, Texas, but were able to get home to Arkansas later in the day via an American Airlines flight that accepted the four-year-old’s doctor’s note.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that travellers with medical exemptions should not be forced to wear face masks on flights.

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However, Spirit explained in a statement to The Independent on Tuesday that its policy does not “provide for medical exemptions” and only allows those under the age of two to fly without face coverings.

Spirit also denied Ms Kimball’s claims about the alleged comments from staff, writing that no team members “questioned anyone’s medical status in the process”.

The airline added: “We sympathise with families facing additional burdens while traveling, including those dealing with medical conditions,” but said that it reminds customers of its policy throughout the booking and boarding process.

Spirit also confirmed that from 19 March, passengers on their flights “with a medical disability who are traveling on or after 22 March 2021” can apply for a medical exemption.

Ms Kimball told KTVH-TV that the incident was very distressing for her son, who she said “is obsessed with airplanes”.

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She explained that she understands the dangers of the pandemic, but said teary-eyed: “I’ve never in my life – being the parent of an autistic kid is really hard – and I’ve never in my life experienced that kind of discrimination from someone.”

The incident came months after the mother of a three-year-old with autism said that her child was banned from flying with Spirit because he would not wear a face mask.

The airline denied the claims and said he was removed from one of their flights after he started swearing at crew members.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 29.5 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached 536,992.