It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime for little Oscar Long. He had been talking about meeting Mickey Mouse in Florida for weeks beforehand. But just two weeks before the family travelled to Disneyland in Florida, the 3-year-old was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Reports in the Dail Mail show that his grandmother, Susan Long, asked American Airlines to postpone the holiday and showed them letters from Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital which stated Oscar wouldn’t be well enough to fly for three years.
But, she says they refused to postpone it for three years and told her it was against their policy to refund the tickets. They said it was not an “exceptional circumstance.”
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, the family said the airline finally processed part of the refund after a long battle but have kept 100 pounds as a cancellation fee as well as another unexplained 200 pound fee.
Susan, told them:
‘First I asked for them to hold the flight but they said they could only hold for a year. When I asked for a refund they told me they only offered them to the next of kin if someone died and that leukaemia wasn’t an exceptional circumstance. I went absolutely ballistic.”
A spokeswoman for American Airlines said they processed a part refund for the family last July and said: ‘We are very sorry to hear of Oscar’s medical condition.’
Oscar has started chemotherapy and travels to hospital for four days every two weeks. And although he is braving battling the condition, the family’s dream holiday was ruined.
His Mum and Dad, Leanne and Ben, say they hope to travel again soon. All little Oscar wants is to meet his idol, Mickey Mouse.
Feature Image via Manchester Evening News
