航空公司趕自閉症少女下飛機惹衆怒

A United Airlines pilot’s decision to divert a flight to remove a family with an autistic daughter has set off a firestorm online, with some calling for a boycott of the carrier.

美國聯合航空公司(United Airlines)的一位飛行員決定更改航線，把有自閉症女兒的一家人趕下飛機，引起網友熱議，有些網友呼籲聯合抵制該航空公司。

On Twitter, hundreds of the family’s supporters have admonished the airline with the hashtag #boycottunited; and a report by ABC News, published on , has received more than 10,000 comments in less than 24 hours, ranging from harsh criticism of the family’s parenting practices to reprimands of flight attendants for being insensitive to passengers with special needs.

在Twitter上，這家人的幾百名支持者用#boycottunited的標籤告誡該航空公司。ABC新聞頻道(ABC News)在上發佈的相關報道不到24小時就收到一萬多條評論，有些人嚴厲批評這家人養育孩子的方式，也有些人譴責乘務員對有特殊需求的乘客過於冷漠。

On May 5, a United flight out of Houston was diverted from Portland to Salt Lake City after the aircraft’s pilot became concerned about potential behavior issues by an autistic passenger, Juliette Beegle, 15. The incident began when Donna Beegle, her mother, began to worry that her daughter, who had refused to eat before boarding the flight, would become agitated because of waning blood sugar, she told ABC News.

5月5日，美國聯合航空公司的一個航班從休斯頓飛往波特蘭。飛行員在得知15歲的自閉症乘客朱麗葉·比格爾(Juliette Beegle)可能出現行爲問題後有些擔憂，所以在鹽湖城備降。朱麗葉的母親唐娜·比格爾(Donna Beegle)對ABC新聞頻道說，這件事的起因是朱麗葉在登機前拒絕進食，所以比格爾夫人開始擔心女兒血糖降低，變得焦躁。

Though usually reserved for first-class passengers, Ms. Beegle asked a flight attendant if she might be able to purchase a hot meal for her daughter, but the flight attendant refused and offered a sandwich instead.

雖然該航班通常只爲頭等艙乘客提供熱餐，但是比格爾夫人問乘務員自己能否給女兒買一份熱餐，卻遭到拒絕，只得到一份三明治。

Ms. Beegle said she explained that her daughter had special needs and would only eat hot food and warned the attendant that Juliette could have “a meltdown” and begin “crying and trying to scratch in frustration,” if she did not eat.

比格爾夫人說，她向乘務員解釋女兒有特殊需求，只吃熱餐，並告知乘務員，如果朱麗葉不進餐，可能會“崩潰”，開始“大哭，並因沮喪又抓又撓”。

When Juliette’s crying and vocal outbursts — not unusual for children with autism — did increase, she was brought a hot meal, which she ate and which settled her down, Ms. Beegle said.

比格爾夫人說，當朱麗葉的哭鬧（對自閉症兒童來說，這並不罕見）加劇後，她得到熱餐，吃完之後，平靜下來。

But shortly after, the captain announced that the plane would be making an emergency landing in Salt Lake City because of a passenger with a behavior issue. Paramedics and police were brought on board to assess the situation and eventually asked the Beegles to disembark.

但是不久之後，機長宣佈，由於一名乘客有行爲問題，飛機將在鹽湖城緊急降落。醫務人員和警察登機評估情況，最終請比格爾一家離機。

In videos taken during the incident and in subsequent news reports, fellow passengers have defended the family and criticized the flight attendant, pilot and airline for being insensitive to the girl’s needs and for overreacting to behavior that is not uncommon.

在事件發生過程中拍攝的視頻裏及之後的新聞報道中，其他乘客爲這家人辯護，批評涉事乘務員、飛行員和航空公司不關心這位女孩的需求，對並不罕見的行爲反應過激。

The airline will not be releasing the names of the pilot or the flight attendant involved, Karen May, a spokeswoman for the airline, said on the phone. United did issue the following statement:

美國聯合航空公司的發言人卡倫·梅(Karen May)在電話採訪中說，該公司不會公佈涉事飛行員或乘務員的名字。不過該公司發佈了以下聲明：

“After working to accommodate Dr. Beegle and her daughter during the flight, the crew made the best decision for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and elected to divert to Salt Lake City after the situation became disruptive. We rebooked the customers on a different carrier and the flight continued to Portland.”

“在飛行中努力滿足比格爾博士及女兒的飲食要求後，機組成員考慮到所有乘客的安全和舒適，做出了最佳決定，在情況混亂之後決定轉飛鹽湖城。我們爲這一家重新安排了另一家航空公司，然後航班繼續前往波特蘭。”

The airline also actively participates in autism awareness and supports programs and events, including its Autism Airport Program, which provides a simulated travel experience for children with autism, Ms. May added.

梅補充說，美國聯合航空公司積極參與自閉症宣傳，支持相關的項目和活動，包括自閉症機場計劃(Autism Airport Program)，該計劃爲自閉症兒童提供模擬旅行體驗。

Ms. Beegle is most interested in autism awareness training for airline employees, she told ABC News. Her formal complaints to both United and the Federal Aviation Administration are already being investigated and, of course, the issue continues to be debated online, where some have leaned toward harsh criticism of Juliette, calling her a “brat” and labeling her parents as inept: “So I guess if you have autism, even at age 15, you have the right to throw a giant tantrum?,” wrote Arm Chair Critic, whose comment was “liked” by more than 450 readers.

比格爾夫人對ABC新聞頻道說，她最關心的是對航空公司員工進行自閉症相關知識的培訓。她對美國聯合航空公司及美國聯邦民航局(Federal Aviation Administration)的正式控訴已經在調查中。當然，網民依然在熱議這個話題，有些網民嚴厲批評朱麗葉，說她是“頑童”，說她的父母不稱職。網友Arm Chair Critic寫道，“那麼我猜，要是你有自閉症，即使到15歲，你也有權大發雷霆？”此人的評論得到450多名網友的支持。

Others fought back with admonishments of the general public’s ignorance of autism and how it affects both the child and parents: “Some of you people need to spend a little time around special needs kids. Yes some can be spoiled, just like any other kid, but their behavior is related to their communication disability,” wrote Dan Wormer. “Please, read a book and learn about autism before you do something really stupid, like this flight attendant.”

其他網民對此作出回擊，責備公衆忽視自閉症以及這對自閉症兒童及其父母的影響：“你們有些人需要花點時間和有特殊需求的孩子相處一下。是的，有些孩子可能被寵壞了，就像其他任何孩子一樣，但他們的行爲是溝通障礙引起的，”丹·沃爾默(Dan Wormer)寫道，“在你像這位乘務員那樣做出非常愚蠢的事情之前，請讀本書，瞭解一下自閉症。”