Blind Man Kicked Off Flight Says Airline Needs to Educate Workers

Typically Albert Rizzi and his guide dog Doxology, or Doxy for short, are among the first to board a flight as Rizzi travels extensively from his Long Island home across country for work reasons.

But on his most recent trip, out of Philadelphia on a US Air plane heading to MacArthur Airport, the 50-year-old was running very late and boarded almost last and that’s when a short flight turned into a 15-hour taxing and frustrating experience. 

Instead of getting a seat, where Doxy would then lay underneath as required by federal flight rules, Rizzi, a member of the Sayville Congregational United Church of Christ, was seated on a bench seat.

And that’s where everything started to go wrong, says Rizzi.

The bench seat meant Doxy could only sit just between his legs and that, according to a flight attendant, was not workable as Doxy was reportedly blocking the aisle area, which posed a safety concern.

Yet the plane eventually taxied out but then was held up on the tarmac for two hours and things then took a turn for the worse, recalls Rizzi.

“The flight attendant was rude and mean about Doxy and my seating situation and eventually prompted the airline to turn the plane around and made me get off,” said Rizzi, who lost his sight eight years ago due to a fungal spore illness.

“When the plane started moving I thought we were going back to get on another plane, but once we got back to the gate, they removed me and Doxy from the plane. It was so upsetting to be taken off the flight,” said Rizzi.

At that point, other passengers began verbally expressing support for Rizzi to stay on the plane but when it was clear the airline was removing the the duo, all 35 fellow travelers decided to leave the plane in protest.

That then, according to Rizzi, prompted the airline to cancel the flight.

“The support they [passengers] showed was incredible. Thirty five people got off the plane to support me and I couldn’t even speak I was so emotionally moved,” said Rizzi, who noted many told him to get a lawyer and that they would serve as witnesses to the treatment he received.

The passengers eventually got on a bus secured by US Airways and got back to LI 15 hours later than originally planned.

“There were people who missed meetings, who missed work things to support me. It was amazing,” he said.

What hasn’t been amazing, he added, is that the airline did not offer him the cash credit offered to other passengers nor has US Air formally reached out to him to apologize for the incident.

He admits to losing his temper a bit while being taken off the plane but says being upset was clearly a natural reaction given he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I later learned there were seats the attendant could have put me in and there wouldn’t have been any issue, but the attendant just didn’t want me on the plane or Doxy and she seemed to think Doxy wasn’t a real guide dog for some reason which she is,” he said.

US Airways has reportedly stated in media reports that Doxy was not controlled and that Rizzi was verbally abusive, refusing to comply with flight crew orders. The airline said it would also conduct a full investigation.

At this point Rizzi isn’t considering legal action but he would like US Air to boost training among attendants regarding the blind and guide dog traveler as well as other disabled travelers.

“I don’t embrace litigation. I embrace mitigation and education as litigation should be a last ditch effort,” he said.