DETROIT – Spirit Airlines released a statement in response to a man who said he was kicked out of his seat in the exit row, because flight attendants saw his prosthetic leg.
Matthew Garza said he paid extra money to sit in the exit row seat during his flight from Houston to Detroit, but he said he was thrown out of the row when flight attendants saw his leg.
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"There's nothing that would have prevented me from opening that door," Garza said.
Garza said when he wears pants, the only sign of his prosthetic left leg is a slight limp. But when he wore shorts on the flight to Detroit, he said he was unfairly treated. Garza said Spirit Airlines employees were nasty in how they handled the situation and acted as if he was incapable because of his leg.
"He came up to me and literally said, 'You can't sit here,' and I was like, 'Why not?' He said because of my left leg," Garza said.
Spirit Airlines released a statement Wednesday in response to the story:
"We apologize for any inconvenience to the customer and we refunded his seat costs immediately. Our crew members follow strict federal regulations outlining passenger requirements to sit in the exit row. These requirements are in place to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew on board.
In addition to a customer's verbal acknowledgement and acceptance of the exit row requirements, our agents and crew must also assess the suitability of each customer to perform the required functions to sit in this row through observation. Federal regulations require customers to have sufficient mobility, strength, or dexterity in both arms and hands, and both legs. If there’s any indication that a passenger may not be able to perform the exit row duties, they may be moved to a different seat with the safety of that customer and all customers onboard the flight in mind."
Garza said the prosthetic leg has been second nature to him since he was a young boy.
"When I was nine, they amputated it," Garza said.
When he was a young boy, Garza was the victim of a lawn mowing accident at his grandmother's house, and while he walks with a slight limp, it didn't hold him back from playing sports.
"I did shot put, discus and track," Garza said. "I did basketball and baseball. I was a pitcher."
He said his leg held him back from sitting in the exit row for which he paid extra money. He'd boarded early with his girlfriend, Karlie, because she's a Spirit frequent flyer. He was wearing shorts, so his prosthetic leg was visible.
Garza's 6-foot-2 frame ended up in the very back of the plane.
He said if he had been wearing pants, it wouldn't have been an issue.
"They didn't even ask me if I could perform the stuff," Garza said. "They just flat out said I couldn't sit there."
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