easyJet leaves 88-year-old lady behind at Luton – but flies her luggage to Bordeaux

Exclusive: Concern about apparent breach of aviation security procedures

Joie de vivre: Joy Burton on a previous trip to France (Andrew Burton)

Britain’s biggest budget airline flew an 88-year-old lady’s suitcase from Luton to Bordeaux – but left her behind at the airport.

Joy Burton, who lives in Bedfordshire, had arrived at easyJet’s home base in good time for flight 2033 to southwest France on Wednesday 22 May.

She was flying to Bordeaux to see her son, Andrew.

Her other son, Hugh, had made a four-hour round trip from Canterbury to take her to the airport.

He helped her check in her baggage and said farewell to her as she went through the security checkpoint over 90 minutes before departure time.

But something went wrong with the ground handling operation that is supposed to provide special assistance, and Mrs Burton missed the flight.

She was told to wait a further 90 minutes for her luggage – a suitcase and a walking aid – to be returned to her.

Eventually the airline discovered that the baggage had been flown to Bordeaux on the Airbus A320 even though she was not onboard.

All baggage is scanned prior to departure, but aviation security procedures are supposed to ensure that bags are offloaded when a passenger checks in luggage but fails to board the plane.

While easyJet had another departure from Luton to Bordeaux on Thursday, it was full. Mrs Burton was offered alternative flights, but the first direct one was on Friday – 48 hours after her original departure.

The airline has kept her bag and walking aid in Bordeaux to await her arrival, which means she has mobility problems at home while she waits to travel.

Under European air passengers’ rights rules, Mrs Burton should immediately have been told of her entitlement to €250 (£215) in compensation for being denied boarding.

Hugh Burton said: “In order to benefit from lower costs, we have all had to toughen up to deal with the vicissitudes and occasional indignities of the low-cost carriers.

“However when my 88-year-old mother is treated by easyJet in such a thoughtless and unintelligent way, it shows that the care for old and vulnerable people has been washed away in the cost-cutting.

“This needs to be addressed by their chief executive, as it cuts to the core of the values at the heart of the organisation.”

A spokesperson for the airline said: “easyJet is very sorry that Ms Burton was unable to travel from London Luton to Bordeaux on 22 May and understands how difficult this will have been for her.

“We know how crucial it is for our customers who require special assistance to feel confident when travelling and as such, we have urgently asked CCS [the assistance provider] and London Luton Airport to investigate what went wrong and ensure that lessons are learnt.

“A member of our customer team is in touch with her concerning denied boarding compensation.

“easyJet carries over 500,000 passengers who needed special assistance every year. Last year the customer satisfaction amongst this group of passengers was 83 per cent, 12 percentage points above all passengers.

“The safety and welfare of our passengers is always easyJet’s highest priority.”