Dubai: Emirates has issued an apology after asking a teenage boy with disability to disembark a plane.
Eli, 17, was travelling with his famliy, including his mother, Isabelle Kumar, last week. He had boarded a France-bound flight in Dubai on Wednesday, the last leg of a multi-stop trip from New Zealand via Melbourne, Australia.
However, when the airline staff learned that the boy had an epilepsy, he was asked to disembark the plane. Isabelle had asked the cabin crew for a seat with an empty seat next to it, in case he had a seizure, according to The Guardian.
In a statement sent to Gulf News, the airline said it is “sorry for any distress and inconvenience caused” to Isabelle and her family.
“Such situations are usually difficult for operational staff to assess, and they opted to act in the best interest of our passengers' safety as well as on advice from our medical team.”
“Our customer service team has been in touch with the family, and we have offered them complimentary hotel stay while in transit and rebooked them on another flight that departed on 26 July."
Isabelle, a Euronews journalist, complained about the incident on social media, citing that they had a doctor’s certificate clearing the teenager to fly despite his condition.
Screengrab/Isabelle Kumar/Twitter
“Thanks @emirates for removing our family from your flight. Our son has epilepsy: we had told you, just come 14 [hours] from Melbourne, got his doctor on the phone and medical clearance while still on board,” Isabelle said on Twitter.
