A 67-year-old wheelchair-bound woman who suffers from diabetes and Parkinson's Disease was left stranded overnight at Chicago O’Hare International Airport after her flight was canceled. Olimpia Warsaw was returning home to Michigan after attending a relative's funeral, and her son, Claude Coltea, thought everything was fine when he dropped her off at the gate.
“I walked with [my mom] all the way to her gate,” he told WBBM. “I confirmed with the gate agent that the flight was on time. Everything was ok. She said, ‘Yup, all’s fine. We’ll take good care of your mom.’”
However, Coltea says that American Airlines failed to take care of his mother. Her flight was canceled so the airline offered her a hotel voucher, but they did not coordinate transportation to the hotel. Warsaw was left stranded, all alone, after the person assigned to take care of her went home for the night.
At one point, Warsaw had to find another passenger to help her use the restroom.
When she did not arrive in Detroit, her family called American Airlines, who managed to find her hours later, still wearing the same clothes from the funeral.
American Airlines offered the family a full refund for her flight and said they are investigating the incident.
“We are very concerned about this, and have launched an investigation with our Chicago team and the vendor we utilize that provides wheelchair services at Chicago O’Hare."