Woman claims she was removed from Southwest flight at Burbank airport over medical condition

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- When Brianna Solari boarded a Southwest Airlines plane at the Burbank airport on Thursday, she tried to cover up.

"I had a headband on, covering my forehead, and I had a mask on because I realized my appearance was a little bit off-putting," she told Eyewitness News.

She said right before takeoff, she was approached by a crewmember.

"He asks me, 'There's just been concerns. Do you have any conditions, diseases ... is this chicken pox?' and I said, 'No, I had surgery,'" she recalled.

Solari has a genetic condition known as neurofibromatosis, or NF, a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in the nervous system and skin. She traveled to Los Angeles Wednesday for a surgery to help reduce the tumors on her body.

"I lack a protein, which acts as a tumor suppressor," she explained. "So I grow tumors all over my body, which appear underneath and on the skin. They can be tiny pinpoint tumors or they can be enormous. They can be extremely disfiguring."

Solari, who's a nurse, said she explained she had discharge paperwork from the surgery but was told they did not need to look at it. Instead, she said she was told she would need to be checked out by emergency medical services and was walked to the gate.

"At no point was I permitted to speak to this physician, and at no point was I ever even examined by EMS," said Solari.

Eventually, she obtained a letter from her surgeon, saying she had to hand the crewmembers her phone to show them that she was cleared to fly.

She said she waited roughly five hours to be placed on another flight.

"It was humiliating, it was embarrassing," she said "I felt violated because this is a personal medical situation."

ABC7 reached out to Southwest Airlines to inquire about the situation and its policy when someone suspects a passenger may have a communicable disease.

The airline responded with the following statement:

"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."

According to federal regulations, carriers should not refuse, delay transportation, or require a medical certificate unless they can determine that passenger's condition poses a direct threat.

It's unclear how exactly Southwest Airlines would have made that determination.