National

Delta tied woman with multiple sclerosis to wheelchair so tight she bruised, son says

By Scott Berson
Nathan Saliagas says his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, was forcibly tied to a wheelchair with a dirty blanket by a Delta employee.. The airline says the woman was tied with blankets, but disputes other parts of the story.
Nathan Saliagas says his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, was forcibly tied to a wheelchair with a dirty blanket by a Delta employee.. The airline says the woman was tied with blankets, but disputes other parts of the story. WSB-TV Broadcast/Screenshot

Maria Saliagas had just flown from Atlanta to Amsterdam, her son Nathan told WSB-TV.

Nathan explained to the station that his mother had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis five years before and now gets around with a wheelchair, and she did not want to let that stop her from traveling.

But when she got off her plane to change gates, her son wrote on Facebook, that something terrible had happened to her.

Airlines usually have wheelchairs with straps designed to keep someone with an illness such as MS upright as she travels . This time they did not have one, and tried something else, according to ABC11.

"Delta Airlines on April 1st, from Atlanta to Amsterdam, decided to physically and emotionally abuse my mother," Nathan Saligas wrote. "The Delta employee thought it would be appropriate to tie my mother with someone else's dirty blanket, in such a way it has left bruise marks on her arms. When she started crying, she was told to 'shut the f*** up' or she will be 'left there.' This highly inhumane and disgusting treatment by Delta Airlines is unacceptable and a need for change."

The family complained to Delta, which offered them 20,000 SkyMiles in return, according to ABC11.

"I definitely know that they're a good airline, I'm not doubting that at all," Nathan Saliagas told WSB-TV. "But in this situation, there was no courtesy, no respect. There was a complete operations failure."

Delta tells a different story.


The company said in an email that Maria Saliagas was indeed secured to a wheelchair with blankets, but only after she felt she was "slipping" from the wheelchair that was provided and had agreed that blankets would serve "as a way to provide comfort and secure her to the wheelchair."


The company also says the blankets were not dirty or used, but were instead removed from their original plastic packaging. The company also says a contracted vendor from the airport was the one who helped Saliagas after deplaning.


In its official statement on the incident, Delta said it was "disappointed that our customers didn't have a satisfying travel experience and will ensure that their return flight exceeds expectations. While Delta always looks for ways to improve the overall customer experience, our findings do not align with details shared by the customer’s family.”


This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Delta tied woman with multiple sclerosis to wheelchair so tight she bruised, son says."

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