When you buy a plane ticket, there’s an unspoken contract: the airline gets you where you need to go. For poet @k.painterpoetry, that contract fell apart at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on June 7, 2026 — and the experience cost her a chance to perform at a Raleigh poetry slam.

According to her Instagram account, the situation unfolded like a worst-case scenario for anyone traveling with mobility needs. She requested wheelchair assistance at the Atlanta airport and was told by a Frontier Airlines employee that she was “too much of a burden.” No manager appeared to address her concerns. No one showed up to help. She waited over an hour for supervisory support that never materialized, and by the time Frontier offered an alternative flight, her shot at the event had disappeared.

Here’s where it gets worse: the airline’s staff told her she needed to arrive two hours before boarding to qualify for assistance. But Frontier’s written policy states passengers only need to show up 60 minutes before departure. That’s not a gray area — that’s a clear mismatch between what employees said and what the company’s actual guidelines require.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has explicit rules about this. Airlines must provide wheelchairs or guided assistance the moment a passenger requests it. They can’t leave someone unattended for more than 30 minutes if that person can’t move independently. Getting passengers from terminal entrances to gates, between flights, and to baggage claim isn’t an optional service — it’s a federal requirement. Frontier’s handling of this situation appears to have violated those standards.

What’s particularly troubling is the defensive commentary that popped up online afterward. Some users argued that passengers needing wheelchair assistance should just arrive even earlier than the airline requires. One commenter suggested showing up two-plus hours before flights if you’re “gonna get wheeled.” But that’s not how civil rights work. You can’t shift the burden of compliance onto the person with a disability. The airline has an obligation to meet its legal requirements regardless of how early a passenger arrives.

The poet acknowledged in her post that she plans to arrive with more buffer time in the future. But she also made clear — and rightfully so — that her experience was unacceptable. Frontier Airlines had not publicly responded to the allegations as of publication. Whether they will remains to be seen, but the damage to their reputation in disability community spaces is already done.