A Southwest Airlines passenger with debilitating anxiety and panic disorder is taking legal action against the carrier after an employee tasked with escorting her to a connecting flight allegedly left her stranded in an airport bathroom. The incident, which occurred in February 2024, reportedly triggered an immediate and severe mental health crisis that continues to affect the passenger nearly two years later, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.
Details of the Alleged Incident
Mary Lynn Ellison, a 64-year-old resident of Seneca, South Carolina, had pre-booked wheelchair assistance for her journey through Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Her boarding pass clearly indicated this requirement. However, upon arrival, a Southwest employee reportedly rejected her request for help, despite her repeated pleas. The complaint describes the employee as rude and dismissive, leaving Ellison to sit on the terminal floor in distress.
Escalating Distress and Abandonment
After a prolonged delay, a courtesy cart arrived to transport Ellison to her gate. The driver stopped to allow her to use a restroom but then departed without her, effectively marooning her. When Ellison realized she had been abandoned, she sought help from another Southwest employee, only to be told that an available wheelchair had been taken. This situation caused her panic symptoms to intensify dramatically due to the uncertainty, isolation, and risk of missing her flight.
Lasting Mental Health Impact
The lawsuit contends that the episode caused Ellison dire emotional distress, including panic symptoms and physical manifestations of panic. Her disabilities, and the known risk of panic attacks, made Southwest's conduct especially dangerous. Since the incident, Ellison has suffered sleep disruption, ongoing hypervigilance, and a worsening avoidance of air travel, consistent with trauma responses. She has also required additional clinical care and therapeutic support to address the incident-related worsening of her symptoms.
Airline Response and Legal Claims
Southwest Airlines reportedly attempted to minimize responsibility by claiming Ellison stayed in the restroom too long. As an apology, the airline offered her a $150 travel voucher, which the complaint maintains did not address her damages and was not a reasonable resolution. Southwest has declined to comment on the allegations, citing pending litigation.
The lawsuit argues that Southwest's conduct was extreme and outrageous, going beyond all possible bounds of decency, including the conscious abandonment of a known disabled passenger mid-connection after repeated requests for help. It alleges conscious indifference to Ellison's rights, safety, and welfare by refusing, delaying, mishandling, and abandoning her.
Broader Context and Legal Precedents
In the United States, individual carriers are responsible for providing disability assistance at airports, unlike in Europe where airport authorities generally handle such duties. This is not the first time Southwest has faced legal action over disability assistance. In 2019, the airline was sued by a wheelchair-bound traveler who soiled herself after a gate agent refused to help her to a bathroom, claiming it was too far away. That case was eventually settled out of court.
Ellison's Medical Background and Travel Needs
Ellison has lived and worked with serious anxiety and panic disorder, among other conditions, requiring prescription medication and clinical care. These conditions substantially limit major life activities for her, including safe navigation of crowded terminals, tolerating prolonged stress, and regulating panic symptoms without reasonable assistance. Acute stress and uncertainty can trigger panic attacks, physical symptoms, and loss of functional capacity.
Air travel is manageable for Ellison when assistance is promised, timely, and reliable. However, when assistance is delayed or withdrawn, her symptoms predictably worsen and can become disabling in the moment. The complaint emphasizes that the failure to provide assistance put her at immediate risk of a panic episode and functional breakdown.
Legal Remedies Sought
Ellison is seeking an injunction requiring Southwest to implement reasonable policies, training, supervision, and handoff protocols to ensure that requested assistance is prompt, coordinated, and not abandoned during connections. Additionally, she is pursuing general, special, consequential, exemplary, and incidental damages for emotional distress and past and future medical, therapeutic, and related expenses, plus attorneys' fees.
The lawsuit argues that monetary damages alone are inadequate to eliminate the risk of future harm, highlighting the need for systemic changes in how airlines handle passengers with disabilities. The case underscores ongoing challenges in air travel accessibility and the severe consequences when promised accommodations fail.
