SeaLuggageLover

Does anyone know the AA policy regarding sick passengers? I recently flew business class from JFK-LAX. The woman in the seat next to me was extremely ill and spent most of the flight in the lie-flat position. She was wearing a mask but removed it occasionally to eat, drink, and speak on a couple of occasions. I'm not sure what her specific illness was, but she told me she'd been sick for two days. The FA was well-aware she was sick before takeoff and kindly doted her during the flight. When we landed, the FA asked if she had enough strength to walk or needed a wheelchair (the woman was so sick she accepted the wheelchair). I can certainly sympathize with a sick woman wanting to get home to her own bed, however, the fact that she'd only been sick for two days left me fearful she had COVID or some other contagious ailment and I fretted the entire flight. Does anyone know what AA policy is regarding obviously sick passengers? Are they supposed to be allowed on the plane? The experience was extremely upsetting.

EXP100

Probably she shouldn't have flown but GAs don't always have the ability or time to do "medical checks" when someone is boarding. Also, you don't know why she was sick. It could have been a stomach bug-I flew one time with one and it wasn't fun. And to be frank, if catching germs upsets you so much the last place you should be is in a metal tube with over 150 people packed together. Not to mention airplanes by nature tend to be very dirty places.

And you were in J, it wasn't like she was nearly sitting on top of you, which would be the situation in Y.

Centurion

If you were from Asia you would realize the custom of wearing a mask is to protect other people around you. For some bizarre reason this pandemic has people thinking it is for their own protection. I think the fact the women wore a mask is nice and we all accept risks when traveling.

wrp96

One of my last trips pre-COVID, I was very weak, pale, needed wheelchair assistance on and off the plane. No it wasn't for any contagious reason and my doctor had encouraged me to go ahead and make the trip. If you were concerned, the time to say something was before the door closed. Otherwise remember that you can't diagnose most illnesses just by looking at someone.

SeaLuggageLover

I certainly understand that flying involves some sort of risk. I also acknowledge that I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with her except that the illness started two days ago. I don't think it was a stomach bug because she only went to the bathroom once but that's neither here nor there. I'm not sure about the GA but the FA clearly knew she was sick before take off as I made clear in my post. My question, as stated in my OP, was does anyone know the AA policy on sick passengers? Thanks!

SeaLuggageLover

First, please don't assume where I'm from or may have lived. Second, it was a cloth mask, which doesn't provide much protection, but yes, I realize that a good quality mask, fitted properly, should in theory protect the people around you. Again, my question is if anyone knows the AA policy on sick passengers.

Uzzar

There is no policy.

SeaLuggageLover

Ah, that explains why I couldn't find it online! Thank you so much for this response. It was exactly what I needed to know.

VegasGambler

I think that the policy is that they decide on a case by case basis whether a passenger is fit to fly. I believe that they contract with a company that has doctors available to make these decisions in real time, although at the end of the day it's up to the captain (but, if challenged, I'm sure that the airline would rather say that a doctor decided that a passenger was not fit to fly, rather than that the captain decided, so I would not expect the captain be overruling the doctor)

It would be very very difficult to have a set policy as this decision clearly needs to be made on a case by case basis, preferably by someone with some medical expertise.

SeaLuggageLover

All helpful context, thank you! And I can understand how difficult it could be to have a fast and firm, one-size-fits-all policy in place, especially given privacy laws.

Maxwell Smart

There are at least 3 different considerations at play (I'm sure there are more) in making decisions here, which is why there can't be a blanket policy:

1. Risk to the sick passenger, i.e., could things become worse for them during the flight?
2. Risk to OTHER passengers/crew, i.e, is it something contagious?
3. Risk to normal operation of the flight, i.e., will the crew need to spend an inordinate amount of time addressing needs of the sick passenger, and/or potential for medical diversion of the flight?

A given situation may involve just one, or multiple such considerations.

Uzzar

I am not refuting this statement, but in actual reality just how often would a GA summon the "on-call" physician? It's not like they are hanging out by the gate...this could add significant time to boarding, which we already know AA wants to be on time as much as possible. Gate Agents are simply not equipped or educated enough to make these decisions.

VegasGambler

Right, it's like asking, what's a hospital's policy on deciding if an ER patient is admitted? The policy is that a doctor decides. Trying to list every possible scenario would be an impossible task. It's a judgement call, and we trust that doctors have sufficient expertise to make that call.

arollins

You ask an interesting question, but, at end of day, GA, FA, Pilots, are not trained to determine the degree of illness that a passenger has to prevent them from flying. Ultimately is up to the passenger to make that decision. Prior pandemic, to change a flight will incur a penalty, so most "sick" passengers, or anyone that was not feeling well that day often opted to fly unmasked, and no one batted an eye. Now is a completely different story.

Etheereal

The "policy" is normally whatever the Captain determines, but he'll try at least to find a doctor first to assess the situation.