A disgraced California nurse claims she was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight while trying to return home after surgery and was discriminated against because of her skin condition.
Briana Solari was confronted by an airline crew member as she departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport on Thursday after undergoing surgery to shrink a tumor caused by neurofibromatosis (NF). According to KCRA.
Neurofibromatosis is an inherited disease that causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the nervous system and skin throughout the body.
“I am missing an enzyme called neurofibromin, which is a tumor suppressor,” Solari told the outlet.. “The tumours grow along the nerves and can be tiny dots or huge tumours. Some tumours can be very disfiguring.”
Solari, a nurse from Roseville, California, flew to Los Angeles for the surgery on Wednesday and was scheduled to stay in the city until returning to Sacramento at 12:10 p.m. the following day.
Her plans allegedly changed when she boarded Southwest Airlines Flight 3471 and flight attendants asked her to leave the plane.
“When I got off the plane I was told there were some concerns,” Solari told the outlet.
“They said, ‘Do you have any illnesses or conditions?’ and I said, ‘No, I had surgery,'” she explained. “Whatever happens is none of their business. But I said, ‘No, I had surgery,’ and they said, ‘Okay.'”
Solari claims the man then took out his mobile phone and called someone, who later turned out to be a doctor under contract with the airline.
The nurse asked to speak to a doctor about her condition but was prevented from doing so by staff.
“I said, ‘Let me talk to the doctor.’ I haven’t seen this doctor,” Solari said.
Solari said that throughout the whole affair she experienced a range of emotions because of the way she looked.
“The humiliation, embarrassment, shame? That’s bad enough. The condition is bad enough, but then you have visible tumours on your face and arms and people judge you,” she added.
Solari, who missed his original flight, had to obtain a doctor’s letter giving him clearance to fly and show it to airport officials.
She was put on a new flight back to Sacramento, but Solari’s feelings about the airline remained unchanged.
“I don’t think I will ever fly with them again. I feel like they could have handled it more professionally,” she said. “They should have waited until they had all the information before making a decision that would ultimately impact my day, my flight and my travels. And it has changed my entire view of Southwest Airlines.”
A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Washington Post, “We are sorry to hear about the experience you had while flying with us and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
“Our team ultimately received permission for the customer to travel, but missed the flight’s departure. We have rebooked the customer on a subsequent flight, provided her with a travel and meal voucher for a future flight, and are in contact with the customer directly to discuss the situation.”
Solari received $500 in tickets and $45 in meal vouchers from the airline, but is still threatening legal action, KCRA reported.
“This is total discrimination! It violates my medical privacy. They don’t even need to know that I said I had surgery. That’s enough. They should not pry into my private medical information,” Solari said.
