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Family Booted From Flight Gets Refund
POSTED: 2:45 pm MST July 7,
2008
UPDATED: 8:34 pm MST July 7,
2008
PHOENIX -- A family booted off a Southwest Airlines flight in Phoenix because the children were being too disruptive will get a refund.Airline officials contacted the family Monday and told them the carrier would refund the entire cost of their six one-way tickets from Detroit to Seattle via Phoenix, said Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Christi Day.Wendy Slaughter said they were detained at the gate by Phoenix police officers who said they were being too disruptive to be allowed to catch a connecting flight at Sky Harbor International Airport."I am furious about it," Slaughter said after arriving home in Seattle. "I just couldn't believe they could do something like that, and then, leave us completely stranded with no money and no way to get anywhere."
Slaughter said this was the first flight for her children and admits the kids were loud and kept getting up and walking around the plane."The children were a little bit out of control on the flight. They were restless and excited and worked up, and they're kids."Her 10-year-old son Henry is autistic with a short attention span. Her daughter Gracie suffers from cerebral palsy. The family said flight attendants asked them to quiet the children twice. They didn't expect to be booted off the flight."And for the safety of our customers and flight crew decided to not allow them to travel on to Seattle at that time," Day said. "Typically if it's a threatening behavior, it's not safe to travel at 30,000 feet in the air in a contained environment."The children's grandmother said she had to pay $2,000 to book last-minute tickets on Alaska Airlines.Phoenix police said on Monday the matter was a civil offense and no report was filed. The department said it will not investigate the incident any further.
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