Delta stole passenger’s wheelchair in poor condition, broke it on the way

• Delta sent a passenger’s electric wheelchair worth $30,000 to California instead of New York.
• The chair was damaged on the way there and back.
• “I can’t believe anyone would treat a wheelchair the way mine was treated,” the passenger said.

Delta broke a passenger’s $30,000 electric wheelchair on a trip to Disney, then sent him on the wrong plane to a completely different state on the way home.

Jessica Dalonzo flew from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Orlando, Florida on July 16 with her parents for a trip to Disney World to celebrate her psychology degree from Queens College.

“My chair came off the plane broken,” she told Insider.

Both the joystick and the footrest were broken, but her parents were able to fix it quickly because they had brought tools and screws with them, she said.

His experience on the way home a week later, however, was far worse.

Delta hadn’t put his chair on the flight back to New York, instead sending him to California.

“After over an hour of trying to determine where my wheelchair was, we discovered that Delta had put my wheelchair on a flight to Los Angeles,” Dalonzo said.

Dalonzo got her chair back the next day after Delta flew it to LaGuardia via Atlanta, but it was badly damaged and she couldn’t use it, she said.

She said the headrest and one of the armrests were torn, the fender on one of the wheels was broken and the chair was making a “crackling noise, which means something is wrong. not with the engine”. The air cushion, joystick arm and a footrest were also broken, she said, and the chair arrived “really dirty and dusty.”

The chair is worth around $30,000, Dalonzo said.

“My wheelchair is tailor-made for me,” she said. “I can’t use any other wheelchair that Delta gives me.”

She told Insider Delta offered to pay for repairs or buy her a new wheelchair, and said she reimbursed her and her parents’ flights.

“We know that our customers with disabilities rely on Delta for their travel needs, and while the majority of wheelchairs and scooters shipped by Delta are not mishandled, we understand the frustration that arises when we fail,” said one. spokesperson at Insider.

“We sincerely apologize for this customer’s experience and are working with them to make things right through repairs and compensation.”

It was the first time that Dalonzo flew with his motorized chair. In the past, she had always taken a manual chair, which had also been damaged but not to the same extent as her electric chair, she said.

“My wheelchair is my legs and I can’t believe anyone would treat a wheelchair the way mine was treated,” she said.

“I’m definitely angry,” added Dalonzo. “They need to do better in handling medical equipment.”