Chicago Man And His Wife Stranded In Las Vegas For Most Of A Day

A suburban Chicago man who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 350 pounds was tacitly told by Southwest Airlines employees he was too large to fly back to Chicago from Las Vegas, leaving he and his wife stranded for some 19 hours.

Emery Orto flew from Midway to Las Vegas with his wife for several days, but when he tried to board the return flight, he was stopped by Southwest gate attendants and asked if he could fit in a seat with the arm rest down.  "She hustled after me and grabbed me and she said 'Can you sit in an airplane seat with the arms down?' I told her yes, I could sit in the seat with the arms down, I've flown many times and never had a problem. And she said, 'Well, you're not flying today,'" Orto told Chicago television station WBBM. Making new flight arrangements cost the couple nearly $800.

Orto said he was not asked to prove whether he could sit in a seat with the arm down, he was just barred from getting on the airplane. Southwest said they have a long-standing policy that covers the situation, and that Orto was arguing in a belligerent manner. They also said four other passengers expressed concern about flying after he "lost his temper."

When asked why Orto was allowed to get on a Southwest flight in Chicago in the first place, the airline responded that the gate personnel at Midway "made a mistake".

FMI: www.southwest.com