California nurse claims discrimination after being asked to leave Southwest flight over skin condition

Brianna Solari

, a nurse from Roseville, California, said that she faced a distressing situation when she was asked to leave a

Southwest Airlines

flight over her skin condition.
Solari explained that she lacks a certain enzyme,

neurofibromin

, which is a

tumor suppressor

. "I lack an enzyme, which is neurofibromin, which is a tumor suppressor. So tumors grow along nerves and can be tiny, little pinpoint tumors, or they can be enormous.

Some of them can be very disfiguring,” the nurse told KCRA.
After its removal on Wednesday, Solari was prepared to fly back to Sacramento the next day on Southwest Flight 3471 at 12.10 pm (local time).
Upon boarding the flight, a crew member allegedly asked her to step off the plane, reported the New York Post.

“I exited the airplane, and they said there had been some concerns,” Solari recounted. “‘Do you have any, you know, medical conditions, or diseases?’ And I said, no, I had surgery,” she explained to KCRA. “That’s none of their business what’s going on. But I said, no, I had surgery. And they said, ‘OK.'”

The crewmember also called a doctor contracted with the airline, but prevented Solari from speaking directly with the physician.

Throughout the incident, Solari said that she experienced a range of emotions, feeling "Humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed? It's already hard enough. It's already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumors on my face and my arms, and people would comment."
After missing her original flight, Solari had to obtain a letter from her surgeon clearing her to fly after which she was placed on a new flight back to Sacramento. However, this did not change her feelings toward the airline. “I don’t think I’ll ever fly them again. I think this could have been handled much more professionally,” Solari said. “They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision that ultimately impacted my day, my flight, my traveling, and my overall perspective on Southwest has changed.”
Southwest Airlines issued an apology and in a statement to the Post said, "We are disheartened to learn of the Customer's experience flying with us and extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience." “Even though our team ultimately received clearance for the customer to travel, we weren’t able to do so in time for the flight’s departure. We rebooked her on a later flight, offered a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher, and we’re following up with her directly to discuss the situation," the Airline spokesperson further said.
The airline offered Solari a $500

flight voucher

and a $45 meal voucher, but she is still considering legal action, according to KCRA.
Solari believes the situation was discriminatory and violated her

medical privacy

, asserting, "This is absolutely

discrimination

! Violating my medical privacy. They don't have to know I just said I had surgery, and that should be it. They shouldn't be prying into my private medical information."