A U.S woman died on holiday in Hungary after being refused a seat on three flights back to New York because she was too heavy to fly, according to her husband.
Vilma Soltesz, 56, from New York, had weighed about 425lbs, had only one leg and used a wheelchair.
She died from health complications in Hungary nine days after she was kicked off the first of three flights and now her death could now be the cause of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the airlines.
Before the journey, their travel agent informed Delta of Mrs Soltesz's condition and they planned to return on October 15 so Mrs Soltesz could continue her medical treatment for her illness - a combination of kidney disease and diabetes.
Mr Soltesz said his wife was already seated on the plane when they were asked to leave by KLM.
'They tried to fit her into the back of the plane, but they didnââ¬â¢t have an extension to secure her,' he said.
She had gained weight due to her illness and the airline said it did not have a seat-belt extender for her, Mr Soltesz said.
He was also told the seat back could not take his wifeââ¬â¢s weight.
After leaving the airplane, the couple waited in the airport for several hours and then were told to drive five hours to Prague for a Delta plane that could accommodate her as a disabled person.
The couple, who were born in Hungary, were forced to return to their holiday home until their New York travel agent managed to get them on an October 22 Lufthansa flight to New York via Frankfurt, which would be able to accommodate her size.
Although a local fire department were brought in to help move Mr Soltesz into three seats assigned to her, they could not lift her out of the wheelchair.
After half an hour of trying to move her, the captain asked them to leave the plane.
'We had 140 passengers on board, and they had connections and needed to travel,' said Lufthansa spokesman Nils Haupt.
'The question was never the seat belt. The question was the mobility of the passenger.'
But when they returned to their holiday home again to make alternative arrangement Mrs Soltesz became more poorly.
The couple did not opt to see a doctor in Hungary as they felt the staff would not be familiar with her medical needs, and two days later Mrs Soltesz died and she was buried in Hungary.
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While I feel badly she died, I don't feel the airlines are to blame. In her condition, I find it odd that she and her husband would even want to travel to Hungary. Then once in Hungary, they opted not to see a doctor.
Topic question: Do you think the airlines should be blamed for this?
