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The widower of a sick woman booted off several flights allegedly because she was too fat has settled his lawsuit with airlines Lufthansa, Delta and KLM.
Janos Soltesz, whose wife, Vilma, 56, weighed more than 185kg, died in Hungary after she was unable to return to New York to see her regular doctors.
Soltesz had been seeking millions in damages from the three airlines, accusing them of causing her death through "recklessness, carelessness, negligence" for refusing to transport his wife, allegedly because of her weight and disability, US court documents showed.
The terms of the final deal were not made public, but a lawyer for Germany's Lufthansa informed the judge in a letter, published by the US Justice Department, that the parties had agreed.
Vilma was morbidly obese and had had one leg amputated, which required her to use a wheelchair, the lawsuit said.
She flew on Dutch carrier KLM from New York to Budapest, with a stopover in Amsterdam, using two seats.
But when her symptoms worsened while on holiday, she made an appointment with her doctors in New York and attempted to board a flight on October 15, 2012. However, she was unable to reach her reserved seats from her wheelchair and was told to disembark.
After waiting five hours in the Budapest airport, the couple drove 41/2 hours to Prague to take a direct flight with US airline Delta, which had been warned of her disability. But Delta did not provide a means of bringing Vilma to her seat, so the couple had to return to Hungary.
A third flight, with Lufthansa, was reserved, and the airline was informed of Vilma's health condition. She was trying to reach her seat, her widower said, when the flight captain asked her to disembark, saying she was delaying the flight and other passengers needed to make their connections.
Getting her off the plane took between 25 and 30 minutes, according to the lawsuit.
She died two days later.


Airlines settle lawsuit from widower of 'too fat' woman booted off flights

Vilma Soltesz during her 2012 ordeal. Photo: SCMP

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World

Widower of 185kg New Yorker sued when she died after having been booted off three flights


The widower of a sick woman booted off several flights allegedly because she was too fat has settled his lawsuit with airlines Lufthansa, Delta and KLM.
