I received an email from a father who is trying to bring attention to a recent incident he faced when booked on an Air China flight from the United States, where the airline denied boarding to his daughter, and is refusing to take accountability.
In this post:
Air China denies disabled child boarding due to lack of doctor’s note
Let me just copy and paste the father’s version of events, since it’s pretty succinct:
On February 2, 2025, I arrived at JFK Airport (Terminal 1) with my daughter for Air China Flight CA982 to Beijing. Despite having all required travel documents and having flown internationally many times before, Air China refused to check us in, falsely claiming my child needed a doctor’s letter to fly.
This demand was made at 11 PM, an impossible time to obtain any medical clearance. When I requested written proof that this was an official policy, the staff refused and instead mocked me, telling me to “Google it.” They deliberately stalled for time until the flight departed, making no effort to assist us.
Their true reason for refusing us boarding became clear when they falsely diagnosed my daughter with an “abnormal health condition that could be dangerous for the flight crew and other passengers.” This offensive and discriminatory claim was made by check-in staff, not medical professionals, and was entirely fabricated.
My daughter is nearly 18 years old but is small and fragile (147 cm, 27 kg) due to developmental delays and epilepsy. She is not aggressive, not hyperactive, does not scream or cry, and has never caused any issue while flying. Air China’s label of “abnormal health condition” was nothing but a cruel and baseless excuse to deny her travel simply because she has a disability.
The purpose of this trip was medical treatment, and it wasn’t even the first time that they traveled to China for this:
We were traveling to China for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for my daughter. This was not our first visit—this would have been our sixth or seventh trip for medical treatment with highly skilled Chinese doctors. TCM has played a critical role in improving my daughter’s condition, and missing this treatment has caused a major setback for her health and well-being.
Following the incident, the passenger tried to get the airline to make things right, but here’s what happened:
After being forced to leave the airport, I filed formal complaints with Air China and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Since then, Air China has:
- Repeatedly lied, claiming we never showed up for check-in on time, despite my evidence proving otherwise.
- Refused to refund our unused tickets, despite their actions being unjustified.
- Delayed and ignored my attempts to rebook, leaving me no choice but to buy new tickets with another airline.
- Attempted to erase all records of the incident, showing a complete lack of accountability.
This is where airlines really fail passengers
I feel horribly for this father and his daughter. Not only was this obviously incredibly inconvenient, but it was also distressing. Air China has a dedicated webpage about the types of passengers who require a note or certificate from a doctor in order to be able to fly. I don’t see anything there that would cover this situation, where a note would be required.
This is such a major area where airlines fail passengers. Let’s give the check-in staff the benefit of the doubt for a moment, and assume they had no ill intent. Even if that’s the case, should it really be left up to frontline staff to determine whether someone has a condition or not that prevents them from flying?
Wouldn’t there be some central support phone number that the check-in staff could call, so that this could be cleared centrally with someone at the airline who has medical expertise? The discretion of whether or not someone has a condition that prevents them from flying can’t be left up to some check-in agents with no medical knowledge.
The worst part here is that even after the denied boarding situation, the father wasn’t able to get anywhere with the airline. For example, the airline has refused to refund the passengers for their unused tickets, despite them falsely being denied boarding.
This is where customer service with airlines is such a contrast to most other businesses. If you go to a hotel, or a restaurant, or a store, there’s usually an empowered manager you can speak to, who can make things right. In the case of airlines, you end up in a never-ending communication loop, where no one actually knows what’s going on, and no one is empowered to act and find a solution.
Ultimately I think the father has done everything he can in this situation — he reached out to the airline and contacted the US Department of Transportation, and is now reaching out to media. Hopefully bringing some attention to this situation will cause the airline to take action, and make things right.
Bottom line
A father was traveling to China with his disabled daughter for medical treatment. However, while checking in with Air China in New York, the daughter was reportedly denied boarding due to lack of a doctor’s note, yet check-in staff refused to provide documentation of why, specifically, a doctor’s note would be required. Unfortunately in the weeks since the incident, no progress has been made with making things right, and their unused tickets haven’t even been refunded.
What do you make of this Air China denied boarding situation?
What’s even more ridiculous is european government denying ICAO approved passport.
...I had a passport with no signature page and denied boarding by Oman Air because they said the German required it. Germany is known for shit like this just like they denied everyone from vietnam with their new passport when it was released because it didn’t have Place of Birth. What an arbitrary decision despite icao not requiring it. Multilateralism my ass.
What’s even more ridiculous is european government denying ICAO approved passport.
I had a passport with no signature page and denied boarding by Oman Air because they said the German required it. Germany is known for shit like this just like they denied everyone from vietnam with their new passport when it was released because it didn’t have Place of Birth. What an arbitrary decision despite icao not requiring it. Multilateralism my ass.
And they say Trump is the racist one?
In another case my father applied for switzerland/schengen tourism visa and only granted for single entry 11 days visa despite having multiple properties in Asian countries and work as CEO in small to medium cap private company (albeit at or around retirement age).
FFS.
Not everyone want to immigrate to your declining western society. Please stop acting superior and start accepting people. Or at least stop pretending that you’re better than Americans because in this regard, USA regardless administration is better in giving out visas that are more logical.
Even the US grant 5 years visa meanwhile the Europeans who claimed to be accepting and anti trump only hand out 11 days visa to a multi millionaire.
Or let’s even talk about Japan who denied visa to someone who had 25k of cash in CD for couple years. FFS.
Japan is also a declining society like the western world. Their economy has literally died since the 90s. No. Not everyone wants to immigrate there where wages are lower than that of china.
I've lived in China for many years and Chinese airlines are well known for denying boarding for health reasons. My older relatives would specifically fly UA instead because they knew they were less likely to be denied boarding.
“ The discretion of whether or not someone has a condition that prevents them from flying can’t be left up to some check-in agents with no medical knowledge.”
Writing as someone who used to work within Medical Assistance (medical repatriations after accidents abroad), the answer is “YES”, check-in staff do make these assessments, across airlines. It’s all about the burden of proof. If someone showed up with their leg in a cast and the...
“ The discretion of whether or not someone has a condition that prevents them from flying can’t be left up to some check-in agents with no medical knowledge.”
Writing as someone who used to work within Medical Assistance (medical repatriations after accidents abroad), the answer is “YES”, check-in staff do make these assessments, across airlines. It’s all about the burden of proof. If someone showed up with their leg in a cast and the passenger claimed it was fine, should it really be the check-in agent proving that the passenger was ill or the passenger proving he wasn’t? Speaking from experience, the responsibility falls on the passenger. If the daughter looked ill, the father should have brought a medical certificate. Not Air Chinas fault, most airlines would have done the same.
I mean, this is an airline run by the chinese government, of course they won't be held accountable.
I hesitate to comment as some will perceive this as justifying bad behavior. Clearly the gate staff should have been respectful and the airline both honest and willing to issue a prompt refund. Additionally, their website should be more informative as regard to medical clearance if they're going to empower gate staff to make judgment calls.
Here's the thing. I'm a retired physician, and if this dad brought in his daughter for a medical...
I hesitate to comment as some will perceive this as justifying bad behavior. Clearly the gate staff should have been respectful and the airline both honest and willing to issue a prompt refund. Additionally, their website should be more informative as regard to medical clearance if they're going to empower gate staff to make judgment calls.
Here's the thing. I'm a retired physician, and if this dad brought in his daughter for a medical clearance note for a trans-Pacific flight, and it was my first time seeing her, I'd ask to see her medical records. If these weren't available, I'd insist on an evaluation with labs before giving clearance. The daughter is 4'10" and weighs a bit under 60 pounds, Body Mass Index 12.5. She should weigh roughly 100 pounds (95-115 target weight). A BMI under 16 is cited by the WHO as associated with "markedly increased risk for ill-health, poor physical performance, lethargy and even death; therefore, this cut-off point is a valid extreme limit". The daughter misses 16.5 by 3.5 points. That's a significant shortfall.
Now the gate staff doesn't know all this, but they probably were taken aback by the young lady's fragile appearance. They wouldn't know that this was her usual, stable appearance. But they don't want a passenger to experience a medical emergency hours from the nearest medical facility. Even if there's an MD on board, addressing a medical crisis in the air is tough. Early in my career I worked as a critical care flight physician on a medical evacuation jet. The noise and vibration make taking even a blood pressure tough, and commercial flights' med kits are pretty basic.
I don't think the gate agents were unreasonable in denying boarding, but they should have escalated their decision up the their chain and acted with compassion.
For frail travelers and their loved ones: remember that while you are accustomed to your/thier appearance, others are not. Error on the side of getting a doctor's note preemptively.
Unbelievable, the majority of the comments to the subject article are about as much use as rocking horse manure would be to a gardener.
One has to wonder just how many of the contributors are actually real people as few appear to have actual brain cells holding their ears apart.
Same number of people that you wonder if they ever set foot on a BA plane before.
Thank you E-ski-mo, you never fail to prove yourself worthy of derision.
OP for this case can try +86-12326, this is the CAAC complaint hotline for passengers. They might have English service and they probably can resolve this better than DOT
I learned my lesson seven years ago about never, ever booking a flight with a mainland Chinese airline. Accidentally booked the flight twice, due to a page load error. Took them months to issue a refund. No toll free number, which forced multiple calls to China. Required copies of all our passports, which repeatedly got lost/took days to show up in their primitive e-mail system. Don’t care how cheap the flight is, just don’t do it.
Now we know where AA recruit their MIA gate agents from.
On the other hand, maybe I should start flying them more knowing that no fake snowflake pets would sneak on board as service animals.
That being said how the airline treated the passenger afterwards is unacceptable but not unexpected.
I have few thousand dollar flight credits expired on all big 3 because most people can't even fly with them in time post COVID....
Now we know where AA recruit their MIA gate agents from.
On the other hand, maybe I should start flying them more knowing that no fake snowflake pets would sneak on board as service animals.
That being said how the airline treated the passenger afterwards is unacceptable but not unexpected.
I have few thousand dollar flight credits expired on all big 3 because most people can't even fly with them in time post COVID. Extension or refund denied.
But most people would label an 18 year old 147 cm, 27 kg as “abnormal health condition”.
Which coincidentally resemble the weight and height of a recent case with parents arrested for malnourishing their child in Perth. See the pics.
It appears the main concern is for emergency evacuations, assuming the daughter was considered reduced mobility for this purpose.
https://webresource.airchina.com.cn/en-US/content/trans_conditions/disability/
• Security Assistant
The main responsibility of personal safety assistants is to help disabled passengers leave the aircraft or provide necessary brief safety instructions in the event of emergency evacuation. The following passengers with disabilities should be accompanied by safety assistants during the flight. We will transport passengers with disabilities and their safety assistants in...
It appears the main concern is for emergency evacuations, assuming the daughter was considered reduced mobility for this purpose.
https://webresource.airchina.com.cn/en-US/content/trans_conditions/disability/
• Security Assistant
The main responsibility of personal safety assistants is to help disabled passengers leave the aircraft or provide necessary brief safety instructions in the event of emergency evacuation. The following passengers with disabilities should be accompanied by safety assistants during the flight. We will transport passengers with disabilities and their safety assistants in accordance with relevant legal requirements:
A.Stretcher passengers;
B. Passengers with mental disorders who cannot understand or deal with safety issues;
C.Passengers with severe mobility problems who cannot evacuate the aircraft by themselves;
D.Passengers who have severe hearing and vision impairments at the same time who cannot communicate with the flight crew.
Former F/A here.... you are generally correct but crew is also concerned (very much) about a pax health condition plunging South on a long international journey. She did have her father with her who seems (according to the article) quite capable of assisting in the event of an inflight emergency.
Clearly customer service is really lacking here and given the carrier no real surprise.
It would possibly been helpful had Dad had a...
Former F/A here.... you are generally correct but crew is also concerned (very much) about a pax health condition plunging South on a long international journey. She did have her father with her who seems (according to the article) quite capable of assisting in the event of an inflight emergency.
Clearly customer service is really lacking here and given the carrier no real surprise.
It would possibly been helpful had Dad had a detailed print describing in plain terms what her health situation and needs are and would be.
China has over five thousand years of civilization. Its herbal medicine is passed down for centuries and is practiced widely among Chinese speaking countries and communities. Herbal medicine does not cure or slow down cancers and diabetes. But it is superior than western medicine in chronic conditions, such as pain and acne as it does not create side effects. I am sure none of these commentators have zero background in medicine, especially herbal medicine, to...
China has over five thousand years of civilization. Its herbal medicine is passed down for centuries and is practiced widely among Chinese speaking countries and communities. Herbal medicine does not cure or slow down cancers and diabetes. But it is superior than western medicine in chronic conditions, such as pain and acne as it does not create side effects. I am sure none of these commentators have zero background in medicine, especially herbal medicine, to discuss such subject matter.
Why is herbal medicine better in Taiwan than in China? Who is Taiwan's founding
father? Yeah, he was overthrown by mainland Chinese and defeated by Mao.
If mainland Chinese are proud of their country's advance in AI, military strength and economic influence, who are we to speak ill on their behalf. Their culture is based on long term collective accomplishment and national interests, not short term personal gains and individual gratification. China does not have colonist or imperialist ambitions at the moment. It does not demand "protection fee" from any country. Only the collateral if it extends a loan to make sure it gets its principle back.
The traditional Chinese medicine that works is just called "medicine".
“Works” is not binary. Something that works for you, an anti-Asian bigot, might not work for somebody of a different ethnicity (genetic makeup).
“Medicine” means a pharmaceutical product with peer reviewed evidence of safety and efficacy. Just because something hasn’t gone through that process doesn’t preclude it from working.
For extreme clarity, the bigot to whom I refer is Watson.
So what are you, Arps? An asshole big law partner, or a whiny member of the woke mob who labels any criticism of the orthodoxy as "racist"? Grow up.
Questioning the validity of the claims made by TCM is not racist, you pompous twit. Where is the evidence? No evidence, no proof.
And to address your asinine comment about "works", that's something a clinical trial would establish. No medicine is 100% effective, and the main point of the clinical trial is to determine how effective it is, if at all, before making it available to the public. For example, "73% of participants in the experiment group experienced a reduction in symptoms, compared to 23% in the control. Efficacy was only 45% among those of middle eastern descent,...
And to address your asinine comment about "works", that's something a clinical trial would establish. No medicine is 100% effective, and the main point of the clinical trial is to determine how effective it is, if at all, before making it available to the public. For example, "73% of participants in the experiment group experienced a reduction in symptoms, compared to 23% in the control. Efficacy was only 45% among those of middle eastern descent, etc."
You should stick to pretending to be a big law partner; it suits you better.
Well with 5000 years of proven anecdotal efficacy it should be a simple matter to set up some real clinical trials to prove that efficacy scientifically.
Five millennia and still waiting for something other than appeals to tradition...
Yeah, a clinical trial should be a simple matter. Not like you need funding, a PI and lab, a participant pool, a statistical and ethical review of the study, time to complete the study and conduct the analysis, time for peer reviewers to have a look…
Many TCM approaches have in fact undergone and passed that process but the treatments get whitewashed and claimed under western medicine by Caucasian supremacists.
Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has good funding. In fact, here is a recent publication (February) in a prestigious journal, Google it if you don't believe it - "Bat-infecting merbecovirus HKU5-CoV lineage 2 can use human ACE2 as a cell entry receptor"
So, the CCP can fund WIV to continue to experiment with dangerous viruses but can't fund simple studies to demonstrate the efficacy of TCM. TCM could benefit the entire world so CCP priorities are a little puzzling.
What does ANY of that rant have to do with Air China and denied boarding??
Of course airline check in staff are not medical professionals, so they will always require passenger to prove it with a written note by a medical professional.
And how do airline passenger staff establish which passengers need to "prove it" with "a written note by a medical professional"?
Most likely they also had requested wheelchair assistance, 18 year olds do not request that, except for a broken arm or leg etc.
Why would any 18 year old with a broken arm needs a wheelchair?
This isn't Southwest.
I once had a Lufthansa check-in agent try to run the clock on me and my family when he thought we were missing a passenger in our group (we weren't). I kept telling him to check as it didn't make sense at all. But he refused to help and basically ignored us. Not that it matters, but we were in J.
I requested for the station manager and was refused multiple times but then...
I once had a Lufthansa check-in agent try to run the clock on me and my family when he thought we were missing a passenger in our group (we weren't). I kept telling him to check as it didn't make sense at all. But he refused to help and basically ignored us. Not that it matters, but we were in J.
I requested for the station manager and was refused multiple times but then by a stroke of luck he agreed to call the station manager. The station manager quickly saw the issue, called LH IT and fixed it in 15 minutes. We were the last passengers to board. The agent not only didn't apologize but avoided eye contact or acknowledgement of our existence. That incident has colored my view of LH for the past 5 years.
LH despises their passengers and this is clear in light of the steady stream of fresh horror stories emerging from passengers attempting to fly with them.
I knew there’d be comments panning the father for seeking out TCM. TCM wouldn’t be my choice either, but that’s utterly irrelevant to what happened here. No matter the reason for the trip, the father and daughter were baselessly denied boarding and should be both refunded and separately compensated for the hassle.
A loving father would do anything for their child including TCM.
One blogger (not Ben) is even claiming he would bring his young children to war zone Syria.
What a father would do for what's best for their child. No judgements.
Traveling overseas for quack pseudo-medical treatment says it all.
Your fully bereft of empathy comment says all we need to know about your moral character. If something works for someone at no cost to you, then who are you to tell them off like you did? The definition of a "quack pseudo-medical treatment" is something that has not been demonstrated to exceed the effect of a placebo through a peer reviewed scientific process. That's not the same as does not work. Even placebos do...
Your fully bereft of empathy comment says all we need to know about your moral character. If something works for someone at no cost to you, then who are you to tell them off like you did? The definition of a "quack pseudo-medical treatment" is something that has not been demonstrated to exceed the effect of a placebo through a peer reviewed scientific process. That's not the same as does not work. Even placebos do work. A large proportion of almost any clinical trial's placebo group experience medical relief as good as the actual treatment being studied.
Having said that, it's unclear to me why the passenger opted to include the blurb about TCM in his message. I can only surmise he is unaware of the stigma re: TCM. Given that he used cm and kg I am of the belief he is not American.
Who are you, Arps?
He’s a mom’s basement-dwelling sock puppet lawyer wannabe who sheds screen names like snakes shed skin.
You're bloviating diatribe changes nothing. TCM is quackery unless proven otherwise by internationally accepted standards. It seems that you're a prisoner of your own "empathy" to the point of gullibility. And there's nothing wrong with my moral character, I'm just not a smooth-brained, soft-cocked simp who believes everything I read on the internet.
Pete’s quote:
‘TCM is quackery unless proven otherwise by internationally accepted standards’
So, many medical professionals in other Asian countries use TCM and have found it to be beneficial and useful for their patients’ health conditions. So, is that not international enough for you or is Pete a racist and what he really means is that unless accepted by western standards aka the white people. If western medicine does not work for someone then...
Pete’s quote:
‘TCM is quackery unless proven otherwise by internationally accepted standards’
So, many medical professionals in other Asian countries use TCM and have found it to be beneficial and useful for their patients’ health conditions. So, is that not international enough for you or is Pete a racist and what he really means is that unless accepted by western standards aka the white people. If western medicine does not work for someone then why not try alternatives whether it be TCM or health products? I believe western medicine, TCM or health products all can have benefits. Why mock any of it?
And this is coming from the same quack people who used to believe tobacco has health benefits or Coca Cola was originally a medicine?
What about those 'weight loss' pill and crazy 'supplements' you see all over the internet.
You don't need to go overseas for "quack pseudo-medical treatment" it's all here in America.
What do you expect for the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China?
The article says they were falsely denied boarding. This is false. They were truly denied boarding. (Section before "Bottom Line" section).
They should be given a refund.
The kid should see a doctor, not a quack. Traditional Chinese Medicine is for people who are mostly well, not severely sick. If they want TCM, they should try such treatment in the Republic of China (Taiwan).
I'm not sure what you are getting at here, but when I have flown Air China (as an American) both from overseas and within China on domestic flights, in various classes (first, business, economy), and I have received impeccable service across the board.
China is the next superpower whether Americans wish to admit it or not.
@Arps. There is something odd about your contributions. You seem to be pretending to be affiliated with Skadden, which is a fairly significant law firm in the U.S. As well interspersing AI responses to certain nuanced areas. I highly doubt that Skadden would allow this from an employee, so I have to assume you are actually an 18 y/o pretending to be an expert on everything for the thrill of it.
Being a superpower that bullies smaller counties is nothing to be proud of. This is what China does and what Trump dreams of doing.
Especially a superpower that does not have freedom for their citizens.
Maybe you should move to China, become a citizen of China and give yourself a Chinese name. How many people want to do that? Compared to how many people want to move to the USA and become citizens?
I suggest getting a really good VPN when you move to China.
@Jane Jacobs
Trump doesn't have to dream. He and his predecessors have been doing it for decades.
Imperialist have been doing it for centuries.
Religions have been doing it for millennia.
China shouldn't be the first place you call out.
Hypocrisy.
@Jane Jacobs America has been bullying smaller countries for decades and decades. Do you really believe that America is not a bully aka the world police? Trump starts stupid trade wars with tariffs including with so called allies and how America gave the F.U. when the American military pulled out of Afghanistan. Aren’t tourists avoiding America now with even Americans currently considering moving to another country??? Nothing against Trump. That was not my intent. It...
@Jane Jacobs America has been bullying smaller countries for decades and decades. Do you really believe that America is not a bully aka the world police? Trump starts stupid trade wars with tariffs including with so called allies and how America gave the F.U. when the American military pulled out of Afghanistan. Aren’t tourists avoiding America now with even Americans currently considering moving to another country??? Nothing against Trump. That was not my intent. It is simply telling Jane Jacobs that she is a hypocrite.
Bullying smaller countries to extort them for the benefit of certain other groups summarizes basically the entirety of the US's history. Don't kid yourself
China is a country with a very bad attitude to disabilities. "Superpower" status is irrelevant.
Worst long haul first class flight I've had (50+) was Air China. Flown them a couple times in business and while maybe not the worst they were no where near the best, ~bottom 15%. On the other hand had an all day layover in Beijing once and had an excellent tour with a local guide.
First, if you're ever in a situation like this, your advocates are Christopher Elliott and a plaintiff's lawyer of your choosing. This blog, wonderful as it is, centers on the miles and points side of travel.
Second, to be a caregiver to a dependent with special needs is an insane burden. We must all have sympathy for that.
Third, TCM, oh boy. I'm not going to say it's all quackery because as a factual matter,...
First, if you're ever in a situation like this, your advocates are Christopher Elliott and a plaintiff's lawyer of your choosing. This blog, wonderful as it is, centers on the miles and points side of travel.
Second, to be a caregiver to a dependent with special needs is an insane burden. We must all have sympathy for that.
Third, TCM, oh boy. I'm not going to say it's all quackery because as a factual matter, some remedies that originated in TCM have demonstrated their efficacy and safety through the scientific method and are now in use in conventional western medicine. But, as an American, when I hear a person in America seek out TCM, immediately that sets off alarm bells. We don't (and we shouldn't) have the full medical details in this situation, but, let me just say. The NYC area has no shortage of highly qualified board certified physicians and you should consult one or many for your medical needs. It is plausible that one or more board-certified physicians with MD or DO degrees have greenlit the TCM approach described here. And we have no basis to judge an individual situation. As a broad, general matter, the overwhelming majority of Americans who seek out TCM are not following the best practice for the good of their own health.
I wouldn't be surprised if many Western treatments are not covered by insurance, and this family found it cheaper to try TCM, and experienced some benefit
@Arps. There is something odd about your contributions. You seem to be pretending to be affiliated with Skadden, which is a fairly significant law firm in the U.S. As well interspersing AI responses to certain nuanced areas. I highly doubt that Skadden would allow this from an employee, so I have to assume you are actually an 18 y/o pretending to be an expert on everything for the thrill of it.
@Antwerp
LOL, Skadden would have fired him if they could. They can't because he ain't there.
My firm (ranked higher than Skadden, thank you very much) would have my keycard disabled and desk cleaned out within 15 minutes if I was doing all of Arpes work on this site.
Chris Elliott, Elliott.org, truly one of the best consumer advocates in the country. Has helped a couple of my travelers get refunds.