Delta Air Lines Lawsuit After Incident with Marine Veteran

This week, Delta Air Lines acknowledged a lawsuit regarding a Marine veteran with a prosthetic leg, who claimed that a flight attendant forced him to leave his exit row seat.

The airline’s acknowledgment came shortly after Mathias Ferreira, now serving as a police officer in Suffolk County, alleged, in legal documents, that he faced discrimination before a May flight from JFK to Atlanta due to being a double amputee.

In a statement released two days later, Delta expressed that they had “directly apologized” to Ferreira and were taking steps to address the situation, choosing to refrain from any legal action.

“Delta has a long history of supporting accessible travel and engaging with our communities through our Disability and Accessible Travel Advisory Council,” said an airline spokesperson in an email.

“We immediately looked into the matter, apologized to the customer, issued refunds and compensation, and implemented necessary internal measures. We intend to respond to the lawsuit promptly.”

Ferreira, who lost both legs from stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in 2011, shared in an interview that he generally reserves emergency row seats for the extra legroom and had never faced issues until this Delta flight.

Typically, flight attendants verify if passengers in emergency rows can assist during emergencies, but Ferreira stated that, despite wearing pants, he was asked to change seats.

The captain backed this request, and Ferreira, now 36, complied without incident. Still, he expressed feeling stunned and confused by the situation.

His attorney, Norman Steiner, shared a letter with the Post indicating that Delta had reached out to Ferreira about two weeks post-flight, extending an apology.

The letter clarified, “To be clear, passengers using prosthetic legs are not prohibited from sitting in exit rows.”

It further conveyed that “Passengers should be allowed to remain in exit rows as long as they verbally indicate their readiness and ability to aid in evacuation if necessary.”

The lawsuit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, seeks unspecified damages, with Ferreira and his lawyer aiming to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“I felt like I was seen as a responsible individual— a Marine, a police officer, a father of two, and someone who enjoys activities like golf, skydiving, and shooting,” Ferreira remarked on Monday.