In 2013, PRM Theresa Purcell was told to crawl up the stairs to board an aircraft to San Diego. "I crawled up on to the steps. I crawled into the plane. There was no other way for me to get on the plane so I crawled up to the plane," she said.
Just last month, American Airlines issued an apology for the incident, which was a violation of the Air Carrier Access Act. "On behalf of US Airways and American Airlines, please accept our apologies for the difficulties Ms Purcell experienced with her request for level entry boarding," the statement said, issued by Christy Garden, DOT Liaison, Customer Relations, American Airlines/US Airways Corporate Office. "We regret that a ramp was not requested so Ms Purcell would be able to board the aircraft without going up the stairs; assistance should have been provided shortly thereafter. Based on what you have shared, it appears our employees didn't provide the usual attentive, courteous and professional service we expect as a company. After review of the facts, American Airlines admits they were in violation of CFR 14 Part 382 for not having provided level entry boarding as requested," the statement went on to say.
