An American Airlines passenger in a wheelchair was reportedly stranded for hours at the airport in Chicago after her flight was canceled (AAL)

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December 3, 2018 8:45 PM

An American Airlines passenger in a wheelchair was left stranded for hours at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

An American Airlines passenger was reportedly left behind at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport overnight.

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Once the flight was canceled, the airline offered Warsaw a hotel room voucher, but because Warsaw has trouble communicating, she couldn't call anyone for transportation.
In a statement to Business Insider, an American Airlines spokesperson said, "The American Airlines team is deeply concerned about what occurred Friday evening at Chicago O'Hare. This is not the level of service we aspire to provide to our customers, and we apologize to Ms. Warsaw and her family for letting them down."

An American Airlines traveler in a wheelchair was left stranded for hours at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after her flight was canceled and the porter assigned to assist her left her alone once his shift ended, multiple news sources have reported.

According to CBS Chicago, 67-year-old Olympia Warsaw was left behind at O'Hare after her flight to Detroit was canceled and the porter assigned to watch her left at the end of his shift. Warsaw, who lives in Detroit, was in Chicago to attend the funeral of her ex-husband.

The local CBS affiliate reported that Warsaw has Parkinson's Disease and diabetes, which means that she has difficulties communicating and must use a wheelchair.

Warsaw's son, Claude Coltea, told CBS he walked her to the gate and confirmed with the agent that the flight was on time and that the airline would take care of his mother.

In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for American Airlines said, "The American Airlines team is deeply concerned about what occurred Friday evening at Chicago O'Hare. This is not the level of service we aspire to provide to our customers, and we apologize to Ms. Warsaw and her family for letting them down."

The spokesperson added that the airline had launched an investigation with its Chicago team and the vendor it utilizes for wheelchair serves at O'Hare, and that it is "developing a process with our vendor to ensure this does not happen again."

The airline told Business Insider it has refunded Warsaw's ticket, adding: "Our customer relations team has spoken with the family multiple times, and other team members met with the family in Chicago and Detroit on Saturday."

The special assistance page on American Airlines' website states that coordinators are available for travelers upon request and that American Airlines also has a disability team that travelers can call.

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