Controversy after elderly woman misses flight

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Norwegian Airlines is refunding the price of an extra ticket a Cocoa Beach man says he had to buy for his mother, after her family claims she was left in a wheelchair at the wrong gate and missed her flight.  

A spokesperson for Norwegian Airlines says a vendor handles airport services for the airline.  

The airline says they immediately started investigating the situation that happened on July 14, after Fox 35 News brought it to their attention.  

Norwegian Airlines also released a statement to FOX 35 saying in part: "In this case, based on the information we have received, there seems to have been miscommunication as to what happened to Ms Moorhead, who should not have been left by herself. She should of course have been given proper attention and care until she boarded, which is when Norwegian Air cabin crew would be responsible for her well-being until she arrived in London. Due to this miscommunication of events, Mr Moorhead was unfortunately charged for a new ticket the following night, which should also not have happened, and Norwegian apologizes for this. A refund has been issued."

Brian Moorhead says he brought his 82-year-old mother, Murial, who's nearly blind, to the airport three hours before her flight home to London on July 14.  

He could not wheel his mother through security and escort to her gate, so he left her in the care of airline.  

Hours later he gets an upsetting phone call.  

"She's tough and she was in tears crying. She was taken to the wrong gate, saying the flight left without her," Moorhead said.

Moorhead claims instead of gate 94, his mom was taken to gate 96.  

"When I looked at the boarding pass, the person who wrote the number on the boarding pass [said] it looks... it could look like a four. A genuine mistake," Moorhead said.  

But, he says when he called to re-book his mother on another flight, he had to pay an additional $440 for a second ticket. 

Moorhead filed a complaint with the airline.  

Norwegian Airlines responded to Moorhead saying, in part, "I would first like to express my sincerest apologies that you had such a bad experience while traveling with us."  

They also quote their own policy saying, "You must not leave a passenger who has requested assistance... for more than 30 minutes".   

Then, they blamed the passenger. 

"You left the gate on your own and didn't present yourself at the due time for boarding. Having in mind this information, we understand that we have complied with the above mentioned regulations." 

That response angered Moorhead even more.  

"They kept saying she didn't show up, she didn't show up. I said, 'I have a boarding pass. I'm sitting here looking at it, and you have her case. You have her luggage checked in,'" Moorhead said.  

Norwegian Air's response was dated July 24, and it says they are processing a refund for the additional ticket.  

Within hours of FOX 35 asking about the situation, Norwegian Airlines sent Moorhead an email, telling him they would be refunding the additional ticket.