A disabled man had to sleep in his wheelchair after an easyJet flight was cancelled and the hotel he was offered was not accessible. Richard Jones says the uncomfortable night's sleep was just part of a catalogue of mistakes on his trip to Tenerife.
Richard along with his twin sister, who both have cerebral palsy and are full-time wheelchair users, went to Tenerife for a family holiday. But Richard says the trouble began when the group attempted to check in with easyJet at Gatwick Airport.
On arrival, staff wrongly insisted that the folding wheelchairs would have to be placed in the hold. Then Richard found their pre-booked seats with extra legroom were not allocated. Mr Jones, his sister and her son were separated - leaving the young boy, who has autism, in some distress.
Richard says the flight home was worse. After arriving at the airport, the family received a text message to say their flight would be delayed overnight. Although an easyJet representative assured them suitable transport and accommodation would be arranged, they were left queuing for hours for a taxi.
And when they arrived, their overnight accommodation did not provide wheelchair accessibility, leaving Richard to spend the night in discomfort, sleeping in his fold-up wheelchair.
The next day, the minibus was also not wheelchair accessible, meaning Richard had to find and pay for alternative transportation to the airport. Upon arrival, they were dismayed to discover yet another delay to their return flight.
Richard a registered healthcare professional, said: "I felt very anxious and disrespected. It seems I have no autonomy over my essential needs." Richard said he believes that the treatment he and his family received exacerbated his medical condition and amounts to disability discrimination.
On their return, easyJet issued Mr Jones with an apology and the minimum £350 compensation. easyJet has now confirmed they will pay Richard's family the full compensation to which they are entitled, along with expenses.
In a statements, the company said: "We are very sorry to hear of the experience of Mr Jones and his family as we know how important it is that those requiring special assistance feel confident that they will be supported when they travel with us. We are urgently investigating this with the airport special assistance provider.
"We have also investigated with our hotel supplier as we know how important it is that our customers requiring last-minute accommodation receive the right level of service and support. As the quality fell well below the standards we expect for our customers we will not be using this property for passengers requiring special assistance in future.
"Our customer team have been in contact with Mr Jones to apologise for their experience and whilst Mr Jones initially only applied for compensation for himself, we have now paid compensation to the whole group and are settling any outstanding expenses."
This article is licensed from Ping News
