LI women sues over in-flight sunlight
Tehmina Haque, an East Setauket ophthalmologist, boarded
American Airlines Flight 133 with more than the usual flying jitters last April when she walked onto the plane with her 4-year-old son, Ryahn, who is allergic to sunlight.
Haque claims in a lawsuit that she was assured several times -- from the day she booked the flight in February to the moment she walked through the terminal gate at
John F. Kennedy Airport -- that passenger windows shades would be kept closed at all times and every attempt would be made to limit sunlight entering the cabin. But, she said, flight attendants changed the plan without notice.
Many passengers opened their window shades anyway during the April 18 flight from
New York to Los Angeles, she said, and badgered her about her request, saying to honor it would discriminate against other passengers.
"For the entire flight . . . plaintiff remained fearful, tense and anxious as she watched over her son's every breath and body twitch, concerned that at any moment her son could have an anaphylactic reaction while imprisoned 35,000 feet into the air," read the lawsuit filed Monday in state Supreme Court in
Manhattan.
The lawsuit claims Ryahn's civil rights were violated and that the airline inflicted severe emotional distress on his mother. It cites the Air Carrier Access Act which protects disabled passengers.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith declined to comment on the pending litigation or the incident, but he said the company's policy on sunlight allergies is posted on its web site.
It reads: "American recognizes that some passengers are allergic to sunlight. Although we do offer window shades, there may be trace elements of sunlight in the cabin, including UVA and UVB rays."
"We make no provisions to be sunlight free. We cannot guarantee customers will not be exposed to sunlight during flight and strongly encourage customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure."
Haque's attorney, Kenneth M. Mollins of Melville could not be reached for comment but will be discussing the lawsuit today during a press conference with Ryahn and his mother and father at Mollins' office today at 10:30 a.m.
Litigation against sunlight allergies is not new ground, but few attempts have been successful.
Earlier this year, a federal court in
New Jersey dismissed a similar claim made by a teenager who sued
Continental Airlines under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The court ruled that the state measure was preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act, which states that "a state, political subdivision of a state, or political authority of at least two states may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier that may provide air transportation."
According to the
National Institutes of Health's web site "sunlight allergies account for 35-50 percent of emergency room visits for anaphylaxis and causes about 30,000 episodes of anaphylaxis and 100-200 deaths per year in the United States."
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