February 18, 2005
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Attorney General Subpoenas US Airways For Disabilities Records
TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Charlie Crist today issued an investigative subpoena to US Airways, Inc., directing the airline to turn over records and other documents regarding the circumstances surrounding the removal of a paraplegic passenger from a flight, as well as its practices and policies in dealing with passengers with disabilities. The subpoena comes in response to the airline's recent removal of would-be passenger Phil Barrett, a paraplegic, from a recent flight at Tampa International Airport.
The Attorney General's subpoena compels the airline to produce, among other things, copies of all documents relating to polices for denying passage to persons with disabilities; employee training for dealing with passengers with disabilities; policies and procedures for responding to requests for accommodations by passengers with disabilities; copies of all complaints by passengers with disabilities since January 2003, as well as the disposition of those complaints; and various documents specifically related to the decision to deny passage to Mr. Barrett.
"Mr. Barrett was humiliated, and we join him in wanting to know why," said Crist. "He has flown on several occasions since his accident, yet this was the only time he was not only denied a seat, but was physically removed from the one the airline provided."
The Attorney General's subpoena was issued pursuant to Florida's Civil Rights Act, Chapter 760, Part III, Florida Statutes. The subpoena is part of the Attorney General's investigation into possible civil rights violations concerning the business practices, policies and procedures of US Airways, Inc., regarding persons with disabilities.