航空公司赶自闭症少女下飞机惹众怒

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.

美国联合航空公司(United Airlines)的一位飞行员决定更改航线，把有自闭症女儿的一家人赶下飞机，引起网友热议，有些网友呼吁联合抵制该航空公司。

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，这家人的几百名支持者用#boycottunited的标签告诫该航空公司。ABC新闻频道(ABC News)在上发布的相关报道不到24小时就收到一万多条评论，有些人严厉批评这家人养育孩子的方式，也有些人谴责乘务员对有特殊需求的乘客过于冷漠。

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，美国联合航空公司的一个航班从休斯顿飞往波特兰。飞行员在得知15岁的自闭症乘客朱丽叶·比格尔(Juliette Beegle)可能出现行为问题后有些担忧，所以在盐湖城备降。朱丽叶的母亲唐娜·比格尔(Donna Beegle)对ABC新闻频道说，这件事的起因是朱丽叶在登机前拒绝进食，所以比格尔夫人开始担心女儿血糖降低，变得焦躁。

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.

虽然该航班通常只为头等舱乘客提供热餐，但是比格尔夫人问乘务员自己能否给女儿买一份热餐，却遭到拒绝，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.

比格尔夫人说，她向乘务员解释女儿有特殊需求，只吃热餐，并告知乘务员，如果朱丽叶不进餐，可能会“崩溃”，开始“大哭，并因沮丧又抓又挠”。

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.

比格尔夫人说，当朱丽叶的哭闹（对自闭症儿童来说，这并不罕见）加剧后，她得到热餐，吃完之后，平静下来。

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.

但是不久之后，机长宣布，由于一名乘客有行为问题，飞机将在盐湖城紧急降落。医务人员和警察登机评估情况，最终请比格尔一家离机。

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.

在事件发生过程中拍摄的视频里及之后的新闻报道中，其他乘客为这家人辩护，批评涉事乘务员、飞行员和航空公司不关心这位女孩的需求，对并不罕见的行为反应过激。

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:

美国联合航空公司的发言人卡伦·梅(Karen May)在电话采访中说，该公司不会公布涉事飞行员或乘务员的名字。不过该公司发布了以下声明：

“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.”

“在飞行中努力满足比格尔博士及女儿的饮食要求后，机组成员考虑到所有乘客的安全和舒适，做出了最佳决定，在情况混乱之后决定转飞盐湖城。我们为这一家重新安排了另一家航空公司，然后航班继续前往波特兰。”

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.

梅补充说，美国联合航空公司积极参与自闭症宣传，支持相关的项目和活动，包括自闭症机场计划(Autism Airport Program)，该计划为自闭症儿童提供模拟旅行体验。

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.

比格尔夫人对ABC新闻频道说，她最关心的是对航空公司员工进行自闭症相关知识的培训。她对美国联合航空公司及美国联邦民航局(Federal Aviation Administration)的正式控诉已经在调查中。当然，网民依然在热议这个话题，有些网民严厉批评朱丽叶，说她是“顽童”，说她的父母不称职。网友Arm Chair Critic写道，“那么我猜，要是你有自闭症，即使到15岁，你也有权大发雷霆？”此人的评论得到450多名网友的支持。

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.”

其他网民对此作出回击，责备公众忽视自闭症以及这对自闭症儿童及其父母的影响：“你们有些人需要花点时间和有特殊需求的孩子相处一下。是的，有些孩子可能被宠坏了，就像其他任何孩子一样，但他们的行为是沟通障碍引起的，”丹·沃尔默(Dan Wormer)写道，“在你像这位乘务员那样做出非常愚蠢的事情之前，请读本书，了解一下自闭症。”