Woman, 96, says she couldn't get luggage or walker after flight arrived at OIA

ORLANDO, Fla. - A 96-year-old woman says she was left without her medicine and her walker after she landed at Orlando International Airport. She claims her luggage was locked in security before she could make it to baggage claims. 

After a late flight back home, Ivy Brathwaite says about 40 minutes after her Frontier flight got into Orlando, she made it to baggage claims. Brathwaite says when she got there, her bags and walker were locked away in a security office, and she was told she wouldn't be able to get them until the next morning. She is diabetic and says her medication was in her luggage. 

MORE NEWS: Florida getting influx of COVID-19 vaccines after feds increase shipments

"I just cannot walk by myself. I have to have someone take me and all that. It was very, very scary," said Brathwaite. "I had to take my medication at night. And, I couldn’t get it," Brathwaite said. 

Her granddaughter is frustrated and believes her grandmother was not treated with respect and wasn't given enough time to make it to baggage claims.

"None of this was their fault. She can’t help how fast she walks, she can’t help that she needed a wheelchair that she was the last one off the plane or that she needed the restroom," said her granddaughter Phylicia Matheson. 

MORE NEWS: Perseverance rover expected to touchdown in Mars on Thursday

Frontier Airlines says their bags were open a reasonable amount of time after the flight. They released this statement: 

"We are working with the family and have resolved the matter and provided flight vouchers in excess of the airfare cost to both members of the traveling party. In this case, the baggage claim office remained open for an ample and reasonable period of time subsequent to the flight’s arrival. The baggage in question was the only luggage on the carousel at the time of the office’s closing and, to protect the passenger’s luggage, it was secured by our agents in the baggage office for overnight storage. The secured baggage was made available at the airport the following day and ultimately picked up for the customer. Baggage delivery is a service usually offered in the event a bag is mishandled or lost, which was not the case in this instance. Frontier does not discriminate on the basis of age, sexual orientation, religion, race, or any other factor, and we pride ourselves on delivering a high level of service to all customers."

The family wants to see changes and wants airlines to be more accomodating to the elderly. 

"There are so many folks who don’t have that opportunity to just spring up and just run for their bags and I really feel like the airlines, all of the airlines, should take that into consideration," Matheson said. 

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.