Delta Boots Double-Amputee Marine from Exit Row, Then Scrambles to Apologize After Lawsuit

ATLANTA, GA - In May, Delta Airlines came under fire after a Marine veteran with prosthetic legs was removed from an exit row seat by a flight crew. Now, the airline is apologizing to Matias Ferreira, now a Suffolk County police officer, The New York Post reports. The airline’s apology followed Ferreira serving the company with a lawsuit. He is accusing the airline of discriminating against him on a May flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York to Atlanta because of his status as a double amputee. 

Ironically, Delta released a statement two days after The Post sought comment, in which it “apologized directly” to Ferreira and took “other actions” to remedy the situation. The airline did not address the legal action. 

“Delta has a decades-long record of championing accessible travel for all and listening to the community via our Advisory Board on Disability and Accessible Travel,” a Delta spokesperson emailed. 

“That’s why we immediately looked into this situation and apologized directly to the customer, issued a refund and compensation, and took appropriate corrective actions internally. We will respond to the litigation in due course.” 

Ferreira lost his legs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in 2011. He told The Post in an interview that he typically books an exit-row seat because it gives him extra legroom, which makes flying with two prosthetic legs easier. He said he’s never had an issue until he boarded the Delta flight in May. 

The flight crew asked passengers sitting in the emergency exit row if they can take action in the event of an issue with the flight that requires evacuation of the aircraft. Ferreira, who was wearing shorts, was asked by a flight attendant to change seats. 

The plane’s captain also asked Ferreira, 36, to move, and he did so without incident. However, he said he was left “stunned and embarrassed,” The Post reported. 

In a letter, Ferreira’s attorney, Norman Steiner, provided a letter to The Post last week that showed Delta wrote to Ferreira about two weeks after the incident and apologized to him. However, Delta made sure to advise him, “For clarification, passengers using prosthetics are not prohibited from sitting in an exit row.” 

“So long as the passenger verbally communicates their willingness and ability to assist in an evacuation should one become necessary, the passenger should be allowed to remain in the exit row.” 

The suit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, is asking for unspecified damages; however, Steiner and Ferreira want to ensure that no one else experiences what Ferreira did. 

“I felt like I was viewed as a liability, not as a United States Marine, not as a police officer, not as a father of two, not as a person who golfs and skydives and shoots and does all sorts of stuff,” Ferreira told The Post.