WASHINGTON — A decorated veteran of the war in Afghanistan is embarrassed and angry after a flight attendant on an Alaska Airlines flight told him he was not allowed to sit in an exit row because he has a prosthetic leg.
Adam Popp
Adam Popp said he almost got kicked off a flight home from Alaska on Memorial Day when a flight attendant threatened to have security take him off the plane if he didn’t move out of the exit row, according to WJLA.
The flight attendant wanted to him to move, because of his prosthetic leg, which he lost when an IED exploded in Afghanistan in 2007.
Popp is actively involved in skiing, mountain biking, and scuba diving, but he said the flight attendant did not think he was physically capable of handling the exit row duties.
“That flight attendant was stuck on that one piece of gear. That’s the only thing he saw,” he said. “He didn’t see me as a person. He didn’t see me as [having] the ability to do the things they require. He saw that one thing and said, ’Nope you aren’t sitting here.’ It was his way or I was off the plane.”
Alaska Airlines has apologized for the incident, saying it had received conflicting guidance from the FAA. The carrier said it had also offered Popp a $200 flight coupon and a letter explaining why he was reseated.
However, Popp said on Twitter that he had not heard back from Alaska Airlines as of Tuesday.
