Share
20th February 2017
05:07pm GMT
Niamh Herbert, a wheelchair-dependant student travelling on a college trip to London, was left crying at a Dublin Airport gate, as she claims that Ryanair staff told her to 'walk up stairs' to board the plane, otherwise they wouldn't have time to help her board a flight.
She took to her personal Facebook page to articulate her situation, rage and upset.
Niamh was travelling to London Fashion Week with Trinity College's Fashion Society, a highly-publicised trip they undertake most years, where they hand pick students to go across the pond and glimpse at one of fashion's most exciting few days.
The incident with Ryanair gained a lot of traction, as at the time, Niamh was serving as curator for the @Ireland Twitter account, which boasts some 50,000 followers.
Got asked could I just walk up the stairs instead of being properly accommodated @Ryanair you're a disgrace
— Ireland / J.P (@ireland) February 17, 2017
Was told this is my own fault (remember my whole issue with changing tickets?) @Ryanair what joy do you get from shaming and discriminating?
— Ireland / J.P (@ireland) February 17, 2017
Since then, the incident has blown up on Twitter. And Ryanair's press team has released the following statement.
“While we regret any inconvenience, this customer arrived at the boarding gate 13 minutes before the flight was due to depart and had not booked any wheelchair services. Our crew provided full assistance and as a gesture of goodwill, transferred this customer on to the next available flight, free of charge, and the customer flew to London Stansted. Thousands of passengers of reduced mobility travel with Ryanair on a weekly basis without issue and any customers who require wheelchair assistance are asked to book it in advance.”
''Had this customer booked wheelchair assistance and arrived at the boarding gate on time, there would have been no issue. Every effort was made to accommodate this customer onto their flight and they were then transferred to the next available flight.''
Ryanair's response is that had Niamh both arrived earlier and booked it in advance, the above situation would not have happened.
What do you think of the above statement – fair enough or lacking in compassion?
