US: Blind woman alleges she and guide dog were kicked off plane

A blind woman from Maine has alleged she and her service dog were kicked off an American Airlines flight after she requested a different seat.

Sue Martin, of Franklin, says she, her husband, and her guide dog, Quan, boarded a plane bound for Dallas, Texas, at Reagan National Airport near Washington on March 1. She asked a flight attendant if she could be moved to a seat in another row that had room for the German shepherd.

Martin says the flight attendant refused. A man in first class later offered his seat, which Martin accepted. That’s when she says she was asked to leave by an American Airlines employee who said her presence on the plane “was not safe”.

An American Airlines spokeswoman says the airline is investigating the allegations.