Johnnie Tuitel, a motivational speaker and author who uses a wheelchair, was refused a flight on US Airways on the way to an event celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The incident occurred September 23 at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, where he was leaving for a trip to a conference on self advocacy.
Tuitel, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan said an airline employee told him he was “too disabled to fly without someone with him.” Tuitel has cerebral palsy. A flight attendant had helped him transfer to a chair specially fitted for flight prior to an employee telling him to leave the plane.
Tuitel, 47, was on his way to Kansas City, Missouri to speak at the 2010 National Self Advocacy Conference. The theme for this year’s event was “Jazz It Up: Celebrating 20 Years of Self Advocates Being Empowered” in commemoration of the 20 year anniversary of the ADA. Tuitel missed the event.
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