I was kicked off plane over my rare condition…I was humiliated, says nurse
A NURSE claiming she was left “humiliated” after being kicked off a flight because of her skin condition is threatening to sue the airline.
Brianna Solari said she flew for a procedure to remove non-cancerous tumours on her skin before she was allegedly booted off the flight.
The nurse flew to LA from Sacramento on Wednesday with Southwest Airlines and was due to return a day after the surgery.
But she claims she was interrogated by a flight attendant on Thursday over the condition of her skin, which appeared inflamed as a result of her Neurofibromatosis.
She told local television station KCRA-TV that staff on Flight 3471, asked her to leave the plane after “concerns” were raised.
Brianna said they suspected she had chickenpox and were worried she’d pass the highly infectious disease onto other passengers.
They allegedly asked if she had any medical conditions or diseases and she explained she’d just had surgery.
Brianna claims airline staff said she needed her to be checked by doctors before they’d let her fly.
She then said the flight attendant called a Southwest Airlines doctor.
Brianna said she requested to speak to the doctor directly about her condition, but the employee allegedly refused to let her.
She said: “This is absolutely discrimination! Violating my medical privacy.
“They don’t have to know I just said I had surgery, and that should be it.
“They shouldn’t be prying into my private medical information.
She added: “I said [to them] ‘let me speak to the doctor’. I wasn’t examined by this physician.”
Brianna has Neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumour growths all over the skin.
Sufferers are often left with visibly red and bumpy skin.
Brianna explained: “I lack an enzyme, which is neurofibromin, which is a tumour suppressor.
“So tumours grow along nerves and can be tiny, little pinpoint tumours, or they can be enormous. Some of them can be very disfiguring.”
She said she was left “humiliated, embarrassed and ashamed” by the ordeal and had to get a letter from her surgeon clearing her to fly.
Airport staff accepted her documents and put her on the next flight to Sacramento, but she was enraged at her delay getting back home.
Brianna added: “It’s already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumours on my face and my arms, and people would comment.”
She said they handed her a $500 flight voucher and a $45 meal voucher as compensation but wants to pursue legal action in spite of this.
Brianna said she’ll never fly with Southwest Airlines again and that the situation “could have been handled much more professionally”.
The nurse told the TV network: “They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision that ultimately impacted my day, my flight, my travelling.”
A representative from Southwest Airlines told The New York Post: “We are disheartened to learn of the Customer’s experience flying flying out of Hollywood Burbank Airport with us and extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience.
“Even though our team ultimately received clearance for the customer to travel, we weren’t able to do so in time for the flight’s departure.
“We rebooked her on a later flight, offered a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher, and we’re following up with her directly to discuss the situation.”
What is Neurofibromatosis?
THE rare genetic condition has forms type 1 and type 2 but both cause tumours to grow along the sufferer's nerves, according to the NHS.
Growths are usually non-cancerous but symptoms differ across type 1 and type 2.
If you have type 1, which is much more common, you may have brown birthmarks known as café au lait spots.
Sufferers also have neurofibromas – soft, non-cancerous tumours on or under the skin and are more likely to have learning difficulties.
They may also get clusters of freckles in odd places like the underarms or groin and issues with bones, eyesight, and nervous system.
But if you have the rarer type 2, you’re more likely to have hearing loss, tinnitus and balance problems.
Sufferers are also prone to getting tumours inside the brain, spinal cord or along the nerves to the arms and legs.
This can lead to weakness in the arms and legs, and persistent headaches.