Air China Accused Of Baselessly Denying Boarding To Disabled Child

I received an email from a father who is trying to bring attention to a recent incident he faced when booked on an Air China flight from the United States, where the airline denied boarding to his daughter, and is refusing to take accountability.

Air China denies disabled child boarding due to lack of doctor’s note

Let me just copy and paste the father’s version of events, since it’s pretty succinct:

On February 2, 2025, I arrived at JFK Airport (Terminal 1) with my daughter for Air China Flight CA982 to Beijing. Despite having all required travel documents and having flown internationally many times before, Air China refused to check us in, falsely claiming my child needed a doctor’s letter to fly.

This demand was made at 11 PM, an impossible time to obtain any medical clearance. When I requested written proof that this was an official policy, the staff refused and instead mocked me, telling me to “Google it.” They deliberately stalled for time until the flight departed, making no effort to assist us.

Their true reason for refusing us boarding became clear when they falsely diagnosed my daughter with an “abnormal health condition that could be dangerous for the flight crew and other passengers.” This offensive and discriminatory claim was made by check-in staff, not medical professionals, and was entirely fabricated.

My daughter is nearly 18 years old but is small and fragile (147 cm, 27 kg) due to developmental delays and epilepsy. She is not aggressive, not hyperactive, does not scream or cry, and has never caused any issue while flying. Air China’s label of “abnormal health condition” was nothing but a cruel and baseless excuse to deny her travel simply because she has a disability.

The purpose of this trip was medical treatment, and it wasn’t even the first time that they traveled to China for this:

We were traveling to China for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for my daughter. This was not our first visit—this would have been our sixth or seventh trip for medical treatment with highly skilled Chinese doctors. TCM has played a critical role in improving my daughter’s condition, and missing this treatment has caused a major setback for her health and well-being.

Following the incident, the passenger tried to get the airline to make things right, but here’s what happened:

After being forced to leave the airport, I filed formal complaints with Air China and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Since then, Air China has:

• Repeatedly lied, claiming we never showed up for check-in on time, despite my evidence proving otherwise.
• Refused to refund our unused tickets, despite their actions being unjustified.
• Delayed and ignored my attempts to rebook, leaving me no choice but to buy new tickets with another airline.
• Attempted to erase all records of the incident, showing a complete lack of accountability.

This is where airlines really fail passengers

I feel horribly for this father and his daughter. Not only was this obviously incredibly inconvenient, but it was also distressing. Air China has a dedicated webpage about the types of passengers who require a note or certificate from a doctor in order to be able to fly. I don’t see anything there that would cover this situation, where a note would be required.

This is such a major area where airlines fail passengers. Let’s give the check-in staff the benefit of the doubt for a moment, and assume they had no ill intent. Even if that’s the case, should it really be left up to frontline staff to determine whether someone has a condition or not that prevents them from flying?

Wouldn’t there be some central support phone number that the check-in staff could call, so that this could be cleared centrally with someone at the airline who has medical expertise? The discretion of whether or not someone has a condition that prevents them from flying can’t be left up to some check-in agents with no medical knowledge.

The worst part here is that even after the denied boarding situation, the father wasn’t able to get anywhere with the airline. For example, the airline has refused to refund the passengers for their unused tickets, despite them falsely being denied boarding.

This is where customer service with airlines is such a contrast to most other businesses. If you go to a hotel, or a restaurant, or a store, there’s usually an empowered manager you can speak to, who can make things right. In the case of airlines, you end up in a never-ending communication loop, where no one actually knows what’s going on, and no one is empowered to act and find a solution.

Ultimately I think the father has done everything he can in this situation — he reached out to the airline and contacted the US Department of Transportation, and is now reaching out to media. Hopefully bringing some attention to this situation will cause the airline to take action, and make things right.

Bottom line

A father was traveling to China with his disabled daughter for medical treatment. However, while checking in with Air China in New York, the daughter was reportedly denied boarding due to lack of a doctor’s note, yet check-in staff refused to provide documentation of why, specifically, a doctor’s note would be required. Unfortunately in the weeks since the incident, no progress has been made with making things right, and their unused tickets haven’t even been refunded.

What do you make of this Air China denied boarding situation?