• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

3

Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

3

Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
American Airlines Group

American Airlines Apologizes to Elderly Passenger Left Overnight in a Wheelchair After Her Flight Was Canceled

By
Kevin Kelleher
Kevin Kelleher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kevin Kelleher
Kevin Kelleher
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 3, 2018, 6:27 PM ET

American Airlines apologized to an elderly passenger and her family after she spent a night in Chicago’s O’Hare airport in a wheelchair when her flight was cancelled.

According to CBS 2 in Chicago, Olimpia Warsaw flew into Chicago, where her luggage was misplaced, to attend the funeral of her ex-husband. Her son left her at the boarding gate for her return flight to Detroit on Friday, Nov. 30, before catching his own flight, assured that American would take care of her.

When the flight turned out to be canceled, Warsaw, who has Parkinson’s and diabetes, was taken by porter back to the front of the airport and offered a hotel room, but not any transportation there. The porter explained his shift was over and he couldn’t help her anymore, then left.

Airport security found Warsaw after her family discovered she hadn’t arrived on the flight home. “She actually had to find a random passenger to help her out just to go to the bathroom because the porters had already left for the night,” Julian Coltea, a family member, told CBS 2. “I really think they need to revisit their policies for dealing with the elderly, for dealing with the disabled.”

In a statement to Fortune, LaKesha Brown, an American Airlines spokesperson, said the airline was “deeply concerned” about the incident and has spoken with the Warsaw family several times since it happened. American also refunded the cost of her ticket.

“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,” Brown said. “We have launched an investigation with our Chicago team and the vendor we utilize that provides wheelchair services at O’Hare. While this investigation is still underway, we are already developing a process with our vendor to ensure this does not happen again.”

In recent years, other airlines have apologized for the way passengers in wheelchairs have been treated. In 2017, a Japanese airline apologized after a wheelchair-bound man was forced to crawl up a staircase to board a flight. And last year, United apologized after a disabled passenger had to crawl off an airplane.

About the Author
By Kevin Kelleher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Gen Z intern speaking during meeting
SuccessJobs
More than 115K young people applied for internships at Citadel—just 350 interns made the cut, making the acceptance rate a record low of 0.36%
By Emma BurleighJune 11, 2026
59 minutes ago
Shaun White, wearing a jacket with a fur-lined hood, looks up.
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Olympic champion Shaun White says AI is ‘leveling the playing field’ for professional athletes
By Sasha RogelbergJune 11, 2026
1 hour ago
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
SuccessWealth
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
By Preston ForeJune 11, 2026
2 hours ago
ice
LawImmigration
Westchester County built a 600-camera plate reader network that shared 1.6 billion scans with ICE, lawsuit says
By Byron Tau and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
2 hours ago
brazil
Arts & EntertainmentWorld Cup
Brazil’s biggest soccer broadcaster Is now a guy who started on Twitch. He beat Globo
By Nick Lichtenberg, Tales Azzoni and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
2 hours ago
visa
AIVisa
Visa thinks it’s a great idea for AI agents to shop and pay for things without human approval
By Barbara Ortutay, Ken Sweet and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
22 hours ago
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 10, 2026
1 day ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
3 days ago
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Innovation
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
By Amanda GerutJune 9, 2026
2 days ago
A ‘MAGA Warrior’ Texas ag chief is publicly blasting the USDA over a flesh-eating pest threatening America's beef supply
North America
A ‘MAGA Warrior’ Texas ag chief is publicly blasting the USDA over a flesh-eating pest threatening America's beef supply
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 10, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.