American Airlines has started an investigation after a disabled woman was left stranded overnight alone at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.
Olimpia Warsaw, 67, was taken to the gate for a flight to Detroit but the flight was cancelled.
She was then left by an airport porter who offered to accommodate her in a hotel but was not willing to actually take her there.
Mrs Warsaw suffers from parkinson’s disease and diabetes and due to medication finds it difficult to communicate, said her son Julian Coltea.
The porter apparently told her his shift was over and couldn’t assist her anymore and so she was left 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.
"I really think that they need to revisit their policies for dealing with the elderly and disabled."
The airline acknowledged if should have done better and apologised.
"We have launched an investigation with our Chicago team and the vendor we utilise that provides wheelchair services at O’Hare. While this investigation is still underway, we are already developing a process with our vendor to ensure this does not happen again," American said in a statement.
