Family Sues Spirit Airlines After 75-Year-Old With Dementia Dies Near Houston Airport

A family has filed a lawsuit alleging that Spirit Airlines abandoned a 75-year-old man with dementia at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an incident that ended with the man being struck and killed by multiple vehicles on a nearby roadway.

The lawsuit states that Marcos Humberto Vindel Osorio boarded Spirit Airlines Flight 1630 from Palmerola International Airport in Comayagua, Honduras, on June 8, 2024. m. local time. The man’s daughter and other family members were waiting at the airport but became concerned when he did not emerge from the terminal.

m. without any airline escort. m. on a roadway roughly an eight-minute drive from the airport. The lawsuit notes that the location would have taken an elderly person about two hours to reach on foot.

The suit alleges that Osorio’s family had informed a Spirit Airlines agent in Honduras that the man suffered from mild dementia that could worsen under stress and unfamiliar conditions. The airline employee confirmed and acknowledged that assistance would be provided for deboarding and navigating the Houston airport, according to the complaint.

A photograph included in the filing shows Osorio being transported through the Honduran airport in a wheelchair before boarding. The family claims no assistance was given after the flight arrived. The lawsuit states that Osorio was left to navigate alone from an international gate through customs and out of the airport at night.

The complaint argues this failure was the direct and proximate cause of his death.

Legal Claims Cite International Treaty and U.S.

The suit claims Osorio’s death occurred in the course of operations of embarking or disembarking, making the airline financially responsible. The filing also alleges that Spirit violated obligations under the Air Carrier Access Act, which requires assistance for passengers with disabilities including cognitive impairments.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages for wrongful death. When contacted for comment, the company declined to discuss the litigation. The lawsuit was filed days before Spirit Airlines announced it would shut down after failing to secure a $500 million government bailout.