A California nurse is claiming that she was discriminated against for her medical condition, after being forced off of a Southwest Airlines flight at Burbank Airport.
Brianna Solari has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow on her nervous system and skin.
Solari said that she initially flew from her home in Sacramento to Los Angeles for a surgery on Wednesday to help reduce tumors on her body.
However, when she boarded the plane back home, she says that Southwest flight crew approached her and removed her.
Solari says the incident made her feel humiliated, embarrassed and ashamed. “It was already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumors on my face and my arm and people would comment.”
“We are looking into it and plan to follow-up with both the employees and customers involved to learn more,” a spokesperson for Southwest said in a statement.
Still, Solari says that she will not be flying with the airline again.
“I think this could have been handled much more professionally,” she said. “They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision”