Terminally Ill New Hampshire Boy Ordered Out of Safety Seat on Southwest Flight

Published December 25, 2011 FoxNews.com

BEDFORD, N.H. – Eight-year-old Nicholas Dainiak, who suffers from Batten disease and cannot hold his body upright, was removed from his protective travel seat by a Southwest Airlines staff member, forcing his parents to hold their son for the flight.
He and his parents were heading home from Walt Disney World in Florida on Friday when the incident occurred.
When his parents strapped him into his protective seat, an airline staff member approached the family and expressed concern that the chair may not be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be on the plane.
Rather than miss the flight, the Dainiaks relented and handed over the chair. Nicholas’ parents held their son in an upright position for the entire three-hour flight.
Southwest Airlines said they were looking into the incident.
“We are working directly with the family after sincerely apologizing and issuing a full refund for their less than positive travel experience,” the company said in a statement to myFOXboston.com.

Newscore contributed to this report.
To read more on this story, see the myFOXboston.com article here.