A mother traveling alone with her 6-month-old son was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight to Boston because a flight attendant told crew the baby was sick.
Evelyn Circeo was traveling home to Boston from Orlando International Airport on Friday, News 6 reported. Shortly before boarding, Circeo said her baby was spitting up on her in the restroom, prompting her to request an aisle seat from the attendant.
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"I asked one of the flight attendants, if possible, if I could have an aisle seat because he had spit up," she said. "It’s just more convenient to be on the outside with a baby."
Circeo said another flight attendant told her she needed to exit the aircraft because her baby was too sick to fly.
"I said, 'What are you talking about?'" Circeo said. "Somebody said that 'your baby is too sick to fly?' I said, 'What is wrong with my baby? Nothing's wrong with my baby. He spit up. He’s a baby being a baby.'"
Other passengers tried to intervene, urging the flight attendant to let the mom and her baby remain on board, News 6 reported.
Once Circeo deplaned she said she went to the ticket counter and discovered her luggage was still on its way to Boston.
"I let them know I only had two bottles on me and three diapers, which I needed for the duration of the flight. I wasn’t planning for anything more," she said, noting her bag was packed with all her son's items.
Spirit offered to place her on the next flight, but Circeo refused the flight and ended up not returning home until early Monday morning.
Spirit Airlines said the decision to remove Circeo from the flight was based on the safety of other passengers.
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"(The flight crew) made the tough decision to remove the guest and her baby for the health and safety of all on board," spokesman Derek Dombrowski said to News 6. "We are sorry for the inconvenience this caused. We are working directly with the guest to resolve any concerns."
The airline refunded Circeo’s flight and requested receipts for her incidentals while she was stranded in Orlando. Spirit also offered her two roundtrip plane tickets for her troubles, but airline officials said they were unsure if she was going to accept them.