British Airways Stop 500 Pound Man From Boarding Flight, Will Sail Home To France

A 500 pound man with a hormone disorder wasn’t allowed onto a British Airways flight due to his weight, and he has now been left stranded in the United States.

22-year-old Kevin Chenais has been in the US for 18 months, where he attended the Mayo Clinic to try and find treatment for his illness, and he was set to fly home to France this week from Chicago.

However, they are still stuck inside a hotel near Chicago Airport after British Airways decided that he was too large to board their airplane. This is despite the fact that he was able to travel to the US with his family a year and a half ago.

Christina Chenais, Kevin’s mother, has been quick to blame the airline, which left them with very few options to get their son home.

She told CBS, “If they could bring him here with that problem in economy, there was a way to take him back by economy but that just get him back home for his medical treatments to continue.”

Kevin requires regular medical attention because of his condition, and he is constantly provided with oxygen to ease his pain.

Normally, an airline will offer large passengers who are unable to fit into their seats the option to purchase an adjoining seat. However, British Airways refused to reveal why they haven’t offered Kevin this opportunity. They stated that they didn’t want to go into specifics of the case, claiming it would violate Kevin’s privacy.

British Airways have since released a statement concerning the incident:

“The British Airways team worked tirelessly to try and find a solution for the family but unfortunately we cannot safely accommodate the customer or any of our aircraft.

We were in regular contact with the family to discuss other options and we provided hotel accommodation throughout.”

They also went on to note that their customer service team had “exhausted all options” in their efforts to get the family back home to France, while confirming that they also gave them a full refund.

British Airways then concluded, “We’ll always try to accommodate a customer if it’s at all possible and it’s safe to do so.”

The Chenais family, who contacted British Airways about Kevin’s unique condition before buying a ticket, have now confirmed that they are set to take a train to New York City, where they will board the Queen Mary II cruise ship to England before either catching a train or ferry back to France.

[Image via Photo360/Shutterstock]