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Lawsuit against OIA claims disabled passengers had to go through security twice

By Kelly Healey and Steve Barrett, WFTV.com
By Kelly Healey and Steve Barrett, WFTV.com
A woman said she filed a lawsuit against Orlando International Airport Thursday after  construction forced her and other disabled travelers to go through a security checkpoint twice.
Sylvia Longmire said the double security checkpoint issue only happens to international passengers in wheelchairs.
The lawsuit claims that international passengers in wheelchairs must go through the regular customs line, but an elevator they're forced to take afterward places them at another security checkpoint, where they're forced to go through the screening process a second time just to leave the airport.

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“All I want is for them to fix the problem. To bring awareness that they are treating people in wheelchairs differently than they do everybody else,” Longmire said.

Longmire said she complained to OIA officials for more than a year, and, now the time for talking is over. She said the lawsuit is a way to force change.

“Having to go through security just to leave the airport, only because we are physically required to use an elevator. We feel that's unfair, and, also illegal,” she said.

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Longmire is an accomplished author, photographer, travel consultant and blogger for the disabled.
“The frustrating thing is as a wheelchair user, we don't want any special treatment. We want equal treatment,” she said.
The lawsuit doesn't specify a dollar amount; it asks for a remedy and legal fees.
Meanwhile, an OIA spokesperson said the construction project in question was completed in July and that passengers can exit the Federal Inspection Station to the main terminal without a second screening.
"We certainly apologize for any inconvenience, however we continue to expand and increase capacity for all our passengers. Security is and continues to be a priority," an airport spokesperson said in a statement.

Cox Media Group

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