Air Canada boots woman from plane due to rash.
Apr 28, 2018, 6:32 am
#1
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Air Canada boots woman from plane due to rash.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...ious-rash.html
Edmonton woman says Air Canada booted her off flight due to non-contagious rash
Jeanne Lehman says she was humiliated and was not treated like a first-class citizen after the airline deemed her rash was contagious at a Halifax airport.
Apr 28, 2018, 7:46 am
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Saw this in this morning's National Post. What more could AC do - they sent her to hospital for medical opinion, paid for hotel and food, and sent her
home the next day upgraded to J class?
home the next day upgraded to J class?
Apr 28, 2018, 7:48 am
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I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, I can see Air Canada's viewpoint, and their decision to exercise caution for the safety of other passengers. On the other hand, one of the main reasons Air Canada did what they did was because it was a visible 'issue' that they believed required further diagnosis/medical opinion. How about the many travelers who fly who shouldn't fly (from a medical perspective) who have hidden 'issues'? How is it fair to the woman in question when a bunch of us fly sick, etc.?
Apr 28, 2018, 9:46 am
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I guess IF the article is 100% accurate they could have been a little more discrete but other than that ..
Apr 28, 2018, 9:47 am
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Was the woman with the gloves a doctor of any kind? Would love to know who at AC deemed it contagious, really hope for their sake it was a doctor.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
Apr 28, 2018, 10:29 am
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Was the woman with the gloves a doctor of any kind? Would love to know who at AC deemed it contagious, really hope for their sake it was a doctor.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
While I most certainly agree, I am counting down the number of seconds before someone posts a 'victim shaming' post since this is the beloved Flyertalk board.
Apr 28, 2018, 10:31 am
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Last edited by YEG_SE4Life; Apr 28, 2018 at 10:52 am
Apr 28, 2018, 10:36 am
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Was the woman with the gloves a doctor of any kind? Would love to know who at AC deemed it contagious, really hope for their sake it was a doctor.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
They seem to have handled it OK if it was indeed an MD that made that call.
Not barking it out in front of the other passengers would have been more tactful, but well, AC and tact don't really belong in the same sentence usually.
I am not blaming the lady with the rash. I am simply stating that, with only the visual evidence, this SD was in a tough spot.
Apr 28, 2018, 10:40 am
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Apr 28, 2018, 10:50 am
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Apr 28, 2018, 1:12 pm
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Did the AC employee say she was contagious, or is that one passengers take on the situation? If the AC staff has no way to know whether the passenger has a contagious illness or not, what should the default be? Trust the passenger's word, when that passenger doesn't even know what is causing the illness, or lean towards the protection of the other passengers?
I am not blaming the lady with the rash. I am simply stating that, with only the visual evidence, this SD was in a tough spot.
I am not blaming the lady with the rash. I am simply stating that, with only the visual evidence, this SD was in a tough spot.
Apr 28, 2018, 1:26 pm
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According to my wife, the ER nurse:
"Shingles is contagious via air if in a large area (2 or more dermatomes) versus by touch if pustules are open and weeping but area is small. With her eye swollen shut, it's likely that 2 or more dermatomes were infected. That lady needed a MD note to fly. They probably could have done things more politely/privately but she shouldn't have been able to fly without clearance. Better they be cautious and piss someone off than endanger infants, immuno-compromised people or adults that have never had chicken pox. An adult that gets chicken pox likely gets admitted to ICU - way more dangerous than getting chicken pox as a child."
"Shingles is contagious via air if in a large area (2 or more dermatomes) versus by touch if pustules are open and weeping but area is small. With her eye swollen shut, it's likely that 2 or more dermatomes were infected. That lady needed a MD note to fly. They probably could have done things more politely/privately but she shouldn't have been able to fly without clearance. Better they be cautious and piss someone off than endanger infants, immuno-compromised people or adults that have never had chicken pox. An adult that gets chicken pox likely gets admitted to ICU - way more dangerous than getting chicken pox as a child."
Apr 28, 2018, 1:31 pm
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There is a department at Air Canada to assist with in flight medical emergencies, as is a department referred to the "Air Canada medical desk" - which is fairly responsive but is meant to deal with others issue. I am not aware of any resource for the flight crew in this particular case. The authority would probably lie with the Captain in this case and it would be his/her decision to figure out how he/she would like to proceed.
Apr 28, 2018, 3:02 pm
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Oh no I got it, my reply was meant to be too 
Consider the situation where a woman turns up looking like she’s 9 months pregnant. Is she going to get on the plane without a doctors note? And I’m sure that’s not the only example.
AC including but not limited to the captain have a duty of care to every single passenger on the plane. Remember the FAs are there for our safety.
But I still don’t think it was handled as well as it could have been. But then I’m also not convicted it was as bad as the story makes out. /shrugs
Consider the situation where a woman turns up looking like she’s 9 months pregnant. Is she going to get on the plane without a doctors note? And I’m sure that’s not the only example.
AC including but not limited to the captain have a duty of care to every single passenger on the plane. Remember the FAs are there for our safety.
But I still don’t think it was handled as well as it could have been. But then I’m also not convicted it was as bad as the story makes out. /shrugs
Last edited by jc94; Apr 28, 2018 at 3:10 pm