08 August 2023 , 11:44
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A woman watched her Ryanair plane take off without her despite arriving in plenty of time to get aboard. Joanne Vasey was told to arrive at the special assistance point at 5.20am ahead of her 6am flight to Dublin on Friday, August 4. The wheelchair user had booked the service in advance as she needs help getting onto planes.
The 38-year-old arrived at the desk five minutes early, ready to get aboard and head off for her nephew's 20th birthday. Joanne, who had made herself known to staff, was kept waiting inside the terminal until five minutes before the plane was due to take off, when she was told it was "too late" for her to board, the Liverpool Echo reported.
She said: "We were told to go to the gate and someone would be there to help me on. We waited, and the lady came over and said the assistant would be with us soon. We stayed there, and we could see them boarding people on through the gate.
"We were still inside the terminal on the other side of the gate. The assistant came then and she said, 'Don't worry, the plane will wait for you, they can't go without you'. She said she was the only one working and she had to board people on the plane and had been running around everywhere.
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Joanne had to watch the plane take off without her (Corbis via Getty Images)"She took us down to another door to go onto the runway to board the plane, and we were waiting for the ambulift. We could see the lift going to the plane. (The assistant) was on a radio and the next minute she said they're not letting you on the plane. When we spoke to somebody else on the desk they said because the ambulift was late to the plane, the pilot had refused it."
Joanne, who has used a wheelchair all her life after losing the use of her legs in a car accident when she was a baby, was forced to cancel her plans with her nephew. She claims she was offered an alternative flight that afternoon, which would have meant getting just a few hours in the city.
Joanne also alleges that staff told her she could head to Manchester and board a different flight, but she'd need to pay up from for the transport and plane ticket, to get reimbursed at a later date.
"If I was able-bodied, this wouldn't have happened. It wasn't our fault we missed the flight - we were there on time. You're conscious of being in a wheelchair, and when something like this happens, it puts you off doing anything. You ask yourself if you would trust them again. I'm annoyed and I'm hurt," Joanne continued.
"I don't really use public transport. Even when it comes to trains I won't go on my own because there might not be a guard to help you. You don't like to go places alone in case something happens. But you should be able to travel on your own.
"There's a lack of care for people with disabilities. You're just left until the end - and then it's 'no, you can't get on'. We literally watched the plane take off as they took us back around."
A spokesperson for Ryanair, which provided the flight Joanne had booked, said it was "abysmal" that she was forced to miss her journey - which was eventually rebooked for the following day.
Ryanair said: “It is unacceptable that special assistance at Liverpool Airport was not provided for this passenger. Liverpool Airport have failed to provide special assistance services booked by this passenger for their flight from Liverpool to Dublin (4 Aug) despite Ryanair paying for this service and as a result, this passenger missed their flight.
"It is abysmal that Ryanair customers requiring special assistance are being let down by Liverpool Airport and we are working with them to ensure that this does not recur."
A spokesman for ABM airport management services, passenger service provider at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “We understand the importance of the special assistance service we provide passengers at Liverpool Airport. We regret that on this occasion, Ms Vasey's experience did not meet that standard.
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"As such, our team has made every effort to support and compensate Ms Vasey. This includes rebooking her flight at ABM's expense and organising her special assistance, as well as offering to reimburse the cost of her missed tour. We are grateful to Ms Vasey for her positive feedback on how the team has handled an unfortunate situation and how we can learn from it."
In recent years many disabled people have spoken out about the difficulties they've had when it comes to transport, particularly planes and trains. Sophie Morgan, a TV presenter and wheelchair user, has launched a campaign to improve access and help provided by airlines after her chair was damaged during a flight.