By Justine Griffin, Tampa Bay Times
When Kliphton Miller left his home in Tarpon Springs before the sun came up on May 23 for a 7:15 a.m. flight to Las Vegas, he didn’t realize how quick the trip would be. Airline employees refused to let him board the plane.
Miller, 44, who is legally blind, was traveling with his 18-month-old granddaughter to Las Vegas, where her parents live, after an extended visit in Florida. But Frontier Airlines employees at Tampa International Airport refused to allow him to board the plane, even though he had paid for the flight.
“I frequently fly with my granddaughter on other airlines and had flown on Frontier with her before too, but they still denied me access,” said Miller. “I was denied because I am blind. They told me I was a liability.”
Miller had no problem moving through the airport with his granddaughter without any extra assistance, including through the security checkpoint, he said. But when he asked for help getting on the plane once he reached his gate, that’s when airline employees began to question his ability to watch over the young child during the flight.
