A mother’s recent experience United Airlines It sparked anger after being told she was forced to remove her disabled son’s ventilator before takeoff. Melissa Sotomayor took her to Tiktok to share her ordeal, and her video quickly went viral and won over a million views.
Her heartbreaking account details her repeated insistence on turning off medical devices that will keep her son alive, despite the flight attendants providing the necessary documents.
Social media users are now gathering behind her, seeking accountability from United Airlines and urging legal action against airline treatment for disabled passengers.
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A mother’s nightmare unfolds on United Airlines flight
Melissa Sotomayor’s trip to Florida with her disabled son was uneventful. It’s time to go home.
Carefully prepared for the flight, the mother confirmed that she had all the medical documents needed to meet her son’s needs. Her son needs to breathe a tracheostomy and ventilator, and it is important that his medical equipment keeps working at all times.
However, just before it took off on a United Airlines flight from Tampa, Florida to New Jersey, a male flight attendant approached Sotomayor in unexpected and disastrous demand.
She was told that her son’s ventilator and portable oxygen concentrator should be turned off because the device “needs to be fixed for takeoff.”
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Sotomayor was shocked by this request to learn that even a brief interruption in his son’s oxygen supply could be dangerous. Despite her immediate protests, the airline staff remained firm in their stance.
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Airline crew refused to listen
When Sotomayor provided the necessary medical documents, the situation escalated and he hoped this would resolve the issue.
Instead, things got worse. Even the two additional flight attendants and the airship captain approached her in the same demand.
At one point the flight attendant calmly told her, “He’ll be fine until we’re in the air at a high altitude.”
However, for mothers who understand their child’s medical conditions better than anyone else, this was an unacceptable risk.
As the conflict continued, Sotomayor was given an ultimatum. Follow the airline’s request or move to another seat.
More humiliated she refused to retreat. Other passengers who witnessed the ordeal called the crew’s actions “harassment” and began to speak out in her defense.
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Before the United Airlines flight took off, the woman endured a long, stressful wait
The plane remained taxiing for almost an hour while the tense exchange continued. Throughout this time, Sotomayor felt embarrassed and disrespected in front of a plane full of passengers.
Finally, after feeling like eternity, the captain announces that the plane has been cleared for takeoff. Still, there were no apology from the airline staff for the pain they caused.
Still, the abuse didn’t end with a flight. When Sotomayor escalated the incident to United Airlines’ headquarters, she met another unfortunate reaction.
The airline has refused to admit fraud, claiming it was following FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) guidelines.
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Virk Sotomaster’s Virk Tok Post
Enraged by the entire experience, Sotomayor took her to Tiktok to share her story. In the current video, she recounted a series of stressful events and explained how her son was pressured to turn off the life support equipment he relied on.
“This message is for United Airlines. The way I treated my son while trying to get home from Tampa to Newark was totally ridiculous,” she began with the clip.
“I was really upset by the way we were humiliated in front of others and the way we were spoken to,” she said in the video.
In her caption, she summed up the shocking ordeal, calling for the airline’s actions and highlighting the lack of empathy and understanding from the airline’s crew.
She also emphasized how painful it is to be treated in such a way while simply trying to ensure her son is safe.
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Exploding United Airlines for abuse of a woman and her child
Sotomayor’s response to the video was overwhelming. Many social media users criticized the airline for treating passengers with disabilities and expressed anger at United Airlines.
One user wrote, “The fact that he thought he was going to take his son out of oxygen and that he thought he was OK for every time is insane.”
Another furious commenter suggested direct action against the airline. “So, will we boycott United Airlines? Stop paying these people seems to be the only way we can get points these days.”
Several people encouraged Sotomayor to take legal action and noted that airline staff were not permitted to seek medical documents beyond what is provided before boarding.
“Please, please, keep an attorney who specializes in ADA. Make all the noise. No one needs to go through this,” advised one person.
Another commenter reinforced the legal aspect, saying, “The flight attendant is not allowed to ask you for documentation. All of that has already been provided before you board. Lawyer, girl!”