Only On CBS2: Sick Child And Family Kicked Off Flight
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) — A local family says they were kicked off a plane because their son got sick.
Newport mom Yvette Kohan said she was running up the aisle of the plane with her 3-year-old son in her arms heading for the bathroom when it happened.
She said her son suffers from motion sickness like she does.
Two days later Kohan said she is still waiting for an explanation from Virgin Airlines over why they were kicked off a Virgin America flight over the weekend.
"As I'm walking out out the bathroom to hand him to my husband so I could clean myself up. My husband said 'come on. We have to go. They're kicking us off the plane,' " said Kohan.
Kohan said her youngest, Holden, was car-sick from the ride to the Maui airport and a flight attendant could have cared less.
"She was very rude. No compassion. No empathy," said Kohan. "I was trying to clean him up and she was rolling her eyes and wondering why I let him get sick on the floor as if that was purposeful."
The airline staff let the Kohans know that they had to leave the plane because their son was sick. They were stunned.
"How does someone throwing up automatically mean they get off the plane," said Kohan. "What if I was pregnant and I was having morning sickness and I threw up. Would you kick me off the flight? They said yes by the way. And I asked them if a small child had been feeding on a bottle and reflux and if they threw up. Would they kick them off? And they said yes they would. I don't believe that" said Kohan.
In order for Holden to fly on Virgin, the flight crew told the parents he'd need something called a fit to fly certificate from a doctor. The Kohans, who are both attorneys, pressed Virgin for documented rules and they said they got none. After nearly an hour of wrangling, a shocked and angry Yvette Kohan put her son into a taxi, went to the closest emergency room and Holden was cleared to fly.
"I would recommend any family. Anybody. But especially anyone with kids. Just stay away from them. I think they are horrible," said Kohan.
The Kohans ended up flying back to LAX on United Airlines. Virgin did refund the price of the tickets and also offered the family another $800, which they refused.
Virgin responded with this statement:
"Per standard process in the event of a guest medical event, the flight crew on Virgin America Flight 1122 contacted Medlink and they determined that the child needed to be symptom free for two hours before flying. The family was not able to depart on their original flight but were able rebook when their child was feeling better and was symptom free. We take the safety of our guests very seriously and acted out of an abundance of caution."