Disabled girl ‘humiliated’ as pilot tells passengers wheelchair is purpose for delay

A Jet2 buyer has accused the airline of leaving her “humiliated” after a pilot repeatedly acknowledged that her wheelchair was the reason for a flight delay.

Geraldine Freeman, was touring from Bristol to the Canary island of Tenerife in July when the incident came about.

Ms Freeman, who is predicated in Swindon, informed BBC Radio Wiltshire she was handled in a “very undignified method,” throughout a journey that was “embarrassing, uncomfortable, demanding and humiliating”.

She alleges {that a} cabin crew member stated “within the occasion of an emergency, they wouldn’t be coming again for me”, making her really feel as if her life “isn’t as precious” as different clients’.

Ms Freeman has disabilities attributable to Thalidomide, and makes use of an electrical wheelchair to get round.

She says the troubling expertise with Jet2 began when she arrived at Bristol Airport and was informed that crew must partly dismantle her wheelchair earlier than loading it on to the aircraft, one thing she says has by no means occurred earlier than.

Then, on boarding, she discovered the remainder of the passengers already ready on the plane – additionally not typical, she says, as disabled passengers are normally boarded first.

She says crew then introduced that the flight was delayed, at which period she might see her wheelchair out on the tarmac beneath the aircraft.

Ms Freeman says the captain of the flight proceeded to make a number of announcement in regards to the loading of her wheelchair being the explanation for the flight delay.

Throughout the security announcement, she says the cabin crew member made the remark about not with the ability to return for her in an emergency, when she was “already terribly confused and upset”.

“I simply didn’t need to hear it, it’s as if my life isn’t as precious as anyone else,” she informed reporters.

She referred to as on different disabled travellers to share their experiences of air journey, saying: “The service we’ve acquired now could be appalling. We’re handled dreadfully.”

“We want plenty of individuals to say sufficient is sufficient of this poor remedy that we’re getting.”

She needs to see disabled individuals routinely boarded earlier than different passengers, to allow them to settle into the flight in consolation and privateness, in addition to airways adapting to permit wheelchairs within the aircraft cabin.

Ms Freeman’s MP, Sir Robert Buckland referred to as Ms Freeman’s expertise “horrendous” and “ a whole breakdown in communication”, including that he has taken up the case with the Division for Transport.

“She’s not asking for the world, she’s simply asking for equal remedy and respect,” he stated.

A Jet2 spokesperson stated: “We take issues reminiscent of this extraordinarily significantly and now we have investigated it as a matter of absolute urgency.

“Regardless of our groups doing every little thing they might to help Ms Freeman when she travelled, the explanation for the delay was as a result of the wheelchair was too giant to suit into the plane maintain with out the headrest being folded first. Because the headrest had not been folded beforehand, an engineer assisted in order that it may very well be achieved appropriately earlier than being loaded into the maintain.

“We acknowledge that our Particular Help workforce ought to have extra precisely famous the size of the wheelchair once they spoke to Ms. Freeman initially, and that this may even have prevented any such delay. We’re guaranteeing that extra coaching takes place to make sure that this doesn’t occur once more.”

They supplied “honest and profound apologies” for what they referred to as an “remoted incident”, including: “we recognise that this isn’t the expertise that our clients ought to count on when travelling with us”.

A Bristol Airport spokesperson apologised for the “antagonistic impression the passenger has gained”.

They stated the case was being investigated, including: “We take our tasks to clients requiring additional help significantly and we work with our enterprise companions to offer the extent of customer support our passengers count on.”