American Airlines loses passenger with dementia

In January last, Ms Dupuy took her father, Josaphat, to New York's La Guardia airport to catch a flight to Haiti. The 53-year-old dementia sufferer arrived at the airport at 4 am, where his daughter duly requested a wheelchair service on his behalf and informed staff of her father's illness, stressing that he should not be left unattended at any time.

After learning that her father had not reached his destination, Ms Dupuy returned to the airport to search for him, but to no avail. Security footage reviewed by the Port Authority Police Department revealed that Josaphat never passed through security or made it to the boarding gate.

Unfamiliar or crowded locations such as the terminal building can cause the onset of severe disorientation in dementia sufferers; thus, concerned for his welfare, Josaphat was reported missing to the NYPD.

The following morning, the NYPD found Josaphat's luggage and passport left in an alley in Brooklyn. Eventually, he was spotted wandering 25 miles from the airport and was immediately taken to the hospital where he spent two weeks in intensive care to recover from prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures.

According to Ms Dupuy, American Airlines did not apologise or offer any kind of explanation as to what caused the incident; they merely refunded her father's plane ticket. AA's conditions of carriage for people with cognitive impairments actually state that: "passengers are escorted airside through security to the gate or an American Airlines Transfer desk where they may wait on their own. The airline's staff cannot stay with the passenger at all times or guarantee supervision at all points of the journey." If these conditions had been adhered to, however, Ms Dupuy's father would likely have boarded his flight and arrived safely at his destination. To this end, Keraphline Dupuy is suing American Airlines to make sure that the airline is forced to "take responsibility for what happened."