Passenger 'Stranded' After Airline Forgot to Load Wheelchair on Plane

LOS ANGELES, CA — Passenger Xavi Santiago is sharing their experience after American Airlines forgot to load their $22,000 electric wheelchair on the plane.

In a viral TikTok, Santiago, 23, says the incident occurred during their trip from Los Angeles, California to Orlando, Florida, which had a layover in Miami.

Santiago experienced a wait before being helped onto the plane in Miami, as no one was available to assist until the rest of the passengers had boarded. Once Santiago reached Orlando, the airline told them that their wheelchair was nowhere to be seen.

American Airlines offered the 23-year-old a manual wheelchair and promised their wife that Santiago’s chair would be placed on the next plane out of Miami – a promise that fell through after the chair was not loaded onto the next flight to Orlando.

As a result, Santiago was forced to wait for almost five hours.

“They have given me nothing but the runaround,” Santiago said in the TikTok video, which was filmed amidst the ordeal. “Customer service is pretty much only over the phone and I’ve been on hold several different times and been told 15 different things.”

"The entire time, I had no idea if my chair was going to show up,” Santiago added in a statement to Insider. “If it was going to be damaged, what was going to happen. This is not a lost bag. This is my mobility. These are like my legs."

"I constantly have feelings of really not being seen as a person," Santiago added. "I know it's a common feeling for a lot of disabled people is they think that because you have physical disabilities, that it means that you're any less capable or any less competent. And I sure as hell am not either of those things."

American Airlines responded to the incident in a statement provided to and shared by PEOPLE: "We want all of our customers to have a positive travel experience when they fly with us, including those who travel with wheelchairs and assistive devices."

"We extend our sincerest apologies for our customer's recent experience as they waited for their wheelchair on a recent trip with us," they continued. "A member of our team has reached out to address their concerns and apologize."