Disabled woman ‘humiliated’ as pilot tells passengers wheelchair is reason for delay

Cabin crew said that ‘in an emergency, they wouldn’t be coming back for me,’ claims ‘stressed’ passenger

A Jet2 customer has accused the airline of leaving her “humiliated” after a pilot repeatedly stated that her wheelchair was the cause of a flight delay.

Geraldine Freeman, was traveling from Bristol to the Canary island of Tenerife in July when the incident took place.

Ms Freeman, who is based in Swindon, told BBC Radio Wiltshire she was treated in a "very undignified way," during a journey that was "embarrassing, uncomfortable, stressful and humiliating”.

She alleges that a cabin crew member said “in the event of an emergency, they wouldn’t be coming back for me”, making her feel as though her life “isn’t as valuable” as other customers’.

Ms Freeman has disabilities caused by Thalidomide, and uses an electric wheelchair to get around.

She says the troubling experience with Jet2 started when she arrived at Bristol Airport and was told that crew would have to partly dismantle her wheelchair before loading it on to the plane, something she says has never happened before.

Then, on boarding, she found the rest of the passengers already waiting on the aircraft - also not typical, she says, as disabled passengers are usually boarded first.

She says crew then announced that the flight was delayed, at which time she could see her wheelchair out on the tarmac beneath the plane.

Ms Freeman says the captain of the flight proceeded to make multiple announcement about the loading of her wheelchair being the reason for the flight delay.

During the safety announcement, she says the cabin crew member made the comment about not being able to return for her in an emergency, when she was “already terribly stressed and upset”.

“I just didn’t want to hear it, it’s as if my life isn’t as valuable as anybody else,” she told reporters.

She called on other disabled travellers to share their experiences of air travel, saying: “The service we’ve got now is appalling. We are treated dreadfully.”

“We need lots of people to say enough is enough of this poor treatment that we’re getting.”

She wants to see disabled people routinely boarded before other passengers, so they can settle into the flight in comfort and privacy, as well as airlines adapting to allow wheelchairs in the plane cabin.

Ms Freeman’s MP, Sir Robert Buckland called Ms Freeman’s experience “horrendous” and “ a complete breakdown in communication”, adding that he has taken up the case with the Department for Transport.

“She’s not asking for the world, she’s just asking for equal treatment and respect,” he said.

A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We take matters such as this extremely seriously and we have investigated it as a matter of absolute urgency.

“Despite our teams doing everything they could to assist Ms Freeman when she travelled, the reason for the delay was because the wheelchair was too large to fit into the aircraft hold without the headrest being folded first. As the headrest had not been folded previously, an engineer assisted so that it could be done correctly before being loaded into the hold.

“We acknowledge that our Special Assistance team should have more accurately noted the dimensions of the wheelchair when they spoke to Ms. Freeman initially, and that this would also have prevented any such delay. We are ensuring that additional training takes place to ensure that this does not happen again.”

They offered “sincere and profound apologies” for what they called an “isolated incident”, adding: “we recognise that this is not the experience that our customers should expect when travelling with us”.

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

They said the case was being investigated, adding: “We take our responsibilities to customers requiring extra assistance seriously and we work with our business partners to provide the level of customer service our passengers expect.”