500 Pound Man Too Obese To Fly Says British Airways
November 8, 2013Obese Man And His Family Stranded In The US
A year and a half ago 22-year-old Kevin Chenais flew from France to the United States to get treatment for a hormone disorder at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. During his stay in the US he gained weight and now British Airways has deemed him to be to obese to fly. Chenais, who reportedly weighs approximately 500 pounds and is on oxygen, was turned away by the airline due to safety concerns according to an airline spokesperson. He and his parents have been stranded in Chicago for about a week now and are staying at an airport hotel.
A statement released by British Airways says that the airline's customer service team has worked diligently to find a solution but have exhausted all options.
"Unfortunately, it is not possible to safely accommodate the customer on any of our aircraft and the family has been offered a full refund." wrote Caroline Titmuss who is the VP Public Relations at British Airways.
The young man's tearful mother, Christina Chenais, is clearly angry and distraught. She feels that if the airline was able to fly them to the United States, they should be able to accommodate their flight home to France. She says that her son is in the same medical condition now as he was when flew to the US.
The family is running out of money and just want to get back to France so that their son can get the medical attention that he very much needs.
Unable to resolve the matter with the airlines through mediation or otherwise, Chenais and his family say they have only one option left and that is to take a train to New York and board the Queen Mary cruise ship to make their way back home.