Passenger Sues Frontier After Being Denied Boarding for Not Being Able to Hear Gate Agent

Frontier Airlines was named the defendant in a lawsuit filed in an Arizona district court, stating that a gate agent and her mask kept a couple from boarding their flight. 
 

Frontier Under Fire

On November 5, 2022, Ivaylo Dodev and his wife Nikolina were set to begin a six-day vacation in Punta Cana. Their trip was booked by a travel agent, in which they were slated to fly with Frontier at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Dodev is suing Frontier Airlines and other parties for discrimination over their Bulgarian heritage and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit states that this was the first time that the couple had flown with a low-cost airline, so they weren't aware of the hand luggage rules beforehand. The couple had two carry-on bags in their possession, but boarding personnel stopped them from boarding as they hadn't paid the extra baggage fees. Dodev and his wife were directed to an adjacent counter so they could pay these fees and board with their bags.

But the problem for Dodev was when a female gate agent in an N95 face mask was trying to communicate with him behind a perspex screen. Being partially deaf in his right ear, Dodev wasn't able to understand the agent's instructions. The lawsuit states that Dodev could read lips when he had difficulty understanding speech, but the mask worn by the agent made this impossible for him.

Dodev told the agent "I can't hear you", to which the agent feistily replied, "Are you insulting my mask?". Dedev reiterated that he had trouble hearing her. The agent then made the couple wait around ten minutes. After attempts to see somebody at the gate again regarding their baggage fees, nobody was willing to talk with them before the boarding doors closed, and the flight proceeded to take off without the couple.

“They Are Not Allowed To Fly”

Dodev called 911 and got the police involved. While officers spoke with Frontier representatives in a "civil manner", the agents gave no specific reason for why the couple could not board the plane. However, Dodev believed he overheard a conversation among Frontier employees that "they are not allowed to fly".

To gather evidence, Dodev managed to take a picture of the agent that snapped at him, without her mask on, but she managed to conceal the name on her badge with her smartphone. The lawsuit notes that her snapshot showed a "sanctimonious smile".

In addition to discrimination and the violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 30-page complaint also notes that the airline breached a contract with the passengers and caused them "emotional distress".

Frontier Airlines has yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit. This isn't the first story of airline personnel from low-cost airlines allegedly preventing passengers from flying. Just last week, a mother filed a complaint to the Department of Transportation stating that an Allegiant Air flight attendant managed to remove her and her son from the plane before takeoff because the son's peanut allergies kept the staff from selling cashews.

Previous lawsuits with Frontier have caused the airline to change its policies with certain individuals in the past, such as for pregnant and lactating employees.