Disabled Marine Veteran Sues Delta Over Humiliating Seat Removal

On May 2025, Matias Ferreira, a 36-year-old Marine veteran and police officer with prosthetic legs, was allegedly forced to move out of a Delta Air Lines plane's exit row before a flight out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Ferreira, who lost his legs in 2011 while deployed in Afghanistan, has now filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming he was humiliated by the incident.

Despite informing the staff of his job credentials and previously sitting in the exit row, Ferreira was ultimately instructed to move to another seat due to his prosthetics. Delta has since apologized to Ferreira and taken "corrective actions" internally. However, Ferreira stated that the apology was "generic" and not signed, and he decided to file the lawsuit to bring awareness about prosthetics and show that "every person who wants to sit and can sit in that seat and make a difference."

Ferreira's attorney, Norman Steiner, said the purpose of the lawsuit is to prevent similar occurrences from happening again. Steiner argued that Delta's actions were a "devastating blow" to Ferreira and a "spiritual amputation," as the incident made him feel "stripped away" of his accomplishments as a double amputee. Ferreira hopes to raise awareness about the discrimination faced by amputees and ensure better training for airline crews to prevent such incidents in the future.