WestJet officials in Ottawa, Canada barred a teenager with a disability from a flight to Regina last week, transporting her on a chartered Medivac jet after officials deemed the homemade harness she uses to travel unsafe. 
Avery Ottenbreit, who has spastic cerebral palsy, was scheduled to fly home early Thursday after attending the Active Living Alliance Conference for Youth with disabilities.
However, on Monday, her father Randy was contacted by WestJet officials and told that she wouldn't be allowed to travel because of her harness, which she requires to control her torso.
"I'm personally disgusted," said Randy Ottenbreit. "The challenge of traveling for a person with a disability is not over. It's definitely not over with us and WestJet," he added.
According to her family, Avery had flown at least a dozen times on a variety of carriers that didn't have an issue with her harness.
WestJet officials cited the fact that Avery's harness did not allow her to bend her body in the "help position" as part of the rationale for the decision. However, her father pointed out that due to her disability Avery would never have been able to bend in such a position in the first place.
Transport Canada, the governmental agency that regulates air travel in Canada, stated that there was no universal ban on the device and that the decision was left up to WestJet "to perform the risk assessment on the impact of the bracing device on their equipment."
On Thursday morning, WestJet officials finally determined that Avery's seat posed a risk:
"We were told that if you were to use this device then it would compromise the safety rating of the seats," said Robert Palmer, the manager of public relations for WestJet. "Based on that, we decided that we could not risk Avery's safety, the safety of the crew, or the other guests on the aircraft."
WestJet scrambled for another way to transport Avery home, before eventually sending her to Regina on a Medevac Learjet air ambulance at the company's expense.
However, according to her family, the emotional toll on Avery was severe and she expressed fear and anxiety at ever flying again.
Her family also wonders if she will be prevented from flying by further regulations.
"Because of the decision they made, she[Avery] might not be able to fly in the future." There has not been an official precedent set, but this is not a good decision for people with disabilities who want to use air travel," her father Randy said.
