Pilot Sues United Airlines For Not Providing Him Gluten-Free Food
The lawsuit, filed on August 12 in Colorado federal court, states that Captain Mark MacKenzie “requires reasonable accommodations in the form of equal access to safe meals, specifically gluten-free food.”
Instead, the airline charges him for food he cannot eat, the lawsuit claims
Despite notice of Captain MacKenzie’s disability and request for accommodations, United has refused to make accommodations and has not only denied Captain MacKenzie’s requests for safe food, but also charges him for meals that he cannot eat because of his disability,” it states.
Defendant’s conduct in denying Captain MacKenzie’s requests for accommodation was discrimination on the basis of disability in violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” it adds.MacKenzie wants the judge to order the airline to supply food that suits his needs, as well as “damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.”
The lawsuit describes him as “a highly experienced and skilled” pilot with more than 35 years of “accident and incident-free flying.”According to the website of the Mayo Clinic hospital group, celiac disease “is an illness caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten.”
Gluten is a protein found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye.
“If you have celiac disease, eating gluten triggers an immune response to the gluten protein in your small intestine,” the website says. “Over time, this reaction damages your small intestine’s lining and prevents it from absorbing nutrients, a condition called malabsorption.”
The lawsuit states that, when exposed to gluten, MacKenzie “experiences impact on multiple body systems including but not limited to his digestive system. When not on a gluten-free diet, Captain MacKenzie experienced weight loss, malnutrition, anemia and other deficient dietary conditions.”It notes that MacKenzie has to fly for many hours without eating because he is not given gluten-free food.
“For instance, on a recent one-day trip from Denver to Roatan, Honduras and back to Denver, with a duty day of eleven hours, United did not provide Captain MacKenzie with anything gluten-free that he could eat,” the lawsuit states. “As the result of United’s refusal to provide gluten-free meals to Captain MacKenzie, he has been forced to use his own funds to purchase food while other pilots are provided meals that they can eat.”
It also claims that United has been warned about his conditionIn 2020, Captain MacKenzie notified United that he has celiac disease and that he was struggling to access safe food while at work and while on layovers and that he was being charged for food that he could not eat,” it states
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