American Airlines passenger left in wheelchair overnight after flight home was cancelled

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A 67-year-old woman who has trouble walking was reportedly left in a wheelchair overnight after her flight from Chicago to Detroit was cancelled on Friday.  

Olimpia Warsaw’s son Claude Coltea told CBS Chicago that she had flown to Chicago to attend her ex-husband’s funeral. On the way there, her luggage was lost. On the way back, she was abandoned in the airport.

Her son reportedly dropped her off at her gate, checked that her flight was on time, and then headed to catch his own flight. But when her flight ended up getting cancelled, no one helped her get to a hotel, according to her son.

“All we wanted was someone to pause and say, ‘You know what, can we just make sure this human being is safe and then we can all go home,’” Coltea told CBS. “Not one person did that.”

After a porter was assigned to help Warsaw, Coltea claims they took his mom to the front of Chicago O’Hare International Airport and then left because their shift was over. Coltea said Warsaw has trouble communicating and wasn’t able to find a way to the hotel on her own.

“She actually had to find a random passenger to help her out just to go to the bathroom because the porters had already left for the night,” Coltea told CBS.

American Airlines said in a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle that its team “is deeply concerned about what occurred Friday evening” at O’Hare. “This is not the level of service we aspire to provide to our customers, and we apologize to Ms. Warsaw and her family for letting them down.”

The airline added that it has launched an investigation with its Chicago team, and is working with the vendor it utilizes to provide wheelchair services at O’Hare to “ensure this does not happen again.” American Airlines said its staff has spoken with the family multiple times and refunded Warsaw’s ticket.

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American Airlines passenger left in wheelchair overnight after flight home was cancelled