Delta Kicks Family Off Flight Due to 6yo's Head Lice

[feueraxt]

I can kind of see Delta's point of view on this one. I wouldn't be comfortable being the next passenger in the kid's seat. But then again, I wouldn't know, would I?

Delta ?banned? whole family from travel after lice incident, says Fox Sports analyst | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/07/19/delta-banned-whole-family-from-travel-after-lice-incident-says-fox-sports-analyst.html)

Mind, calling paramedics, and advising the family to go to the emergency room, does seem a tad extreme.

[ExXB]

I can just see the headlines now had they not offloaded the family. "Delta contaminates thousands of unsuspecting passengers to potentially fatal head lice" "Class action lawsuit threatened against uncaring, sloppy, incompetent Delta airlines after lice infestation threatans passenger's lives"

No, they did the right thing.

[Basil]

I think I'm with the airline on this one but it's reported that they were unaware of the infection until en-route.
It is not uncommon for children to pick up headlice at school but they are easily treated.Fox News elisabethmp2: I wouldn't want to be on a flight with this dirtbag and his filthy family!!
Headlice can be caught by anyone, clean or dirty.
Wiki:
About 6–12 million people, mainly children, are treated annually for head lice in the United States alone. High levels of louse infestations have also been reported from all over the world, including Australia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Israel, and Sweden. Head lice can live off the head, for example on soft furnishings such as pillow cases, on hairbrushes, or on coat hoods for up to 48 hours.

[edi_local]

100% with the airline on this one. The kid had headlice. They would have spread on the plane and the seat. Pretty soon that could have become an infestation. Plenty more people could have been infected and pretty soon it would have been traced back to Delta and then the media ****storm would have hit back at them for not cleaning planes properly etc.

However, that said, there must be hundreds of planes out there spreading lice around from unsuspecting passengers. Perhaps a high profile headlice case would lead to improved cleaning standards industry wide...but then again, the media ****storm would then be on the "deadly chemicals used to clean planes".

[Basil]

"deadly chemicals used to clean planes"
Nailed it in one :ok:

[Piltdown Man]

It is reasonable that people with contagious infections/infestations are not permitted to fly. It is not the airline's fault that this young boy picked up an infection. Unfortunately, head lice are very easy to get. My kids have been infected numerous times, it's a problem because too many people are in denial and far too often schools and such like will not take any action. In this case Delta did the right thing but may have been a bit heavy handed in dealing with it. There is a good chance that a pharmacy in the terminal at Minneapolis would have a concoction that would fix the problem allowing the family to continue. Insisting on a letter from a medic to confirm the lad was bug free was probably over the top. Besides, his parents would have wanted the critters out ASAP.

The place where the father was wrong was insisting the airline should have a specific lice policy. None is needed. A general policy and common sense should be good enough. Or am I just a bit naive?

[reynoldsno1]

Headlice can be caught by anyone, clean or dirty.
ISTR being told that headlice actually prefer a clean environment ...

[B2N2]

It's PUBLIC transportation and anything that threatens the safety, security or general well being of the general PUBLIC should be eligible for refusal.
Including the "emotional support" animals.

[Basil]

I'm sure we now know more about the little beasties than before this thread was posted, e.g:
Wiki:
The human body louse Pediculus humanus humanus has the smallest insect genome known. This louse can transmit certain diseases while the human head louse (P. h. capitis), to which it is closely related, cannot.

Genetic evidence suggests that our human ancestors acquired pubic lice from gorillas approximately 3-4 million years ago.
Well, there's a little skeleton in the family cupboard but, TBH, perpetrated by a brave man :E