Joan and Robert Vanderhorst claim they were stopped from boarding the flight and not wanted in first class after American Airlines staff told them their disruptive son was a danger to the crew.
The Los Angeles couple, flying home from Newark, New Jersey, now wants to sue the airline for discrimination of their 16-year-old son Bede, writes the Daily Mail.
AA spokesman Matt Miller told Los Angeles TV KLTA that Bede was “excitable, running around and not acclimated to the environment.”
He said: “For the safety of the young man and the safety of others, American Airlines offered to book another flight for the family.”
In a video that Mrs Vanderhorst filmed Bede, accused of being a flight risk, sits quietly playing with his hat and Mr Vanderhorst says: “He’s behaving. He’s demonstrating he’s not a problem.”
“Of course he’s behaving. He’s never not behaved,” Mrs Vanderhorst answers in the video that was published on station KLTA.
The family was warned that their son’s seat was too close to cockpit and could distract the pilot and cause a mid-flight landing.
After airport police had intervened the family got tickets to a United Airlines flight but Mr Vanderhorst said they didn’t get their first class upgrade fee back.
Mr Vanerhorst told the NY Daily News: “Nothing like this has ever happened before. That’s what’s so shocking. He’s usually our good luck charm. Good things usually happen when Bede is with us.”
See the report from KLTA 5 here:
Image via Getty.
