Kilkenny woman without wheelchair for four days after it was not loaded onto flight
On After Loaded Her Could That It Back And Dublin Located Likely Be Emily At Wheelchair Had Felix At Was Told The Landing Not Not Charleroi, Plane Airport, Belgium On Been
A Kilkenny woman says she is "hugely traumatised" after having been left without her wheelchair for four days because it was not put on her flight home to Ireland from Belgium.
When the chair was eventually returned to her, its paint was heavily scratched and its footplate was damaged. It will now require re-painting and some repair work, which could end up costing hundreds of euros.
Emily Felix flew home on a Ryanair flight from Charleroi to Dublin early on the morning of Sunday, October 8. She had been in Belgium to spend a few days with her unwell grandmother, who passed away last weekend.
Emily has a rare progressive medical condition and relies on her wheelchair to get around.
After landing back in Ireland and disembarking with two airline staff members, Emily and her mother were told the wheelchair could not be located on the plane and that it had likely not been loaded on at Charleroi.
Emily said she and her mother waited for an hour to speak to another Ryanair representative, who brought them to the airline’s helpdesk. She was transported to the desk on something she described as a “metal buggy”.
After explaining what had happened, she and her mother were made to feel “like an inconvenience”, said Emily.
"My mother explained the whole situation — that we took an early flight and that we had been at my grandmother’s funeral the day before, and that we had spent the week with my dying grandmother. They didn’t bat an eyelid," she said.
Emily said she was given a generic lost luggage form to fill out, a form that had no specific section for wheelchairs.
She asked when her wheelchair might be returned, but was given no further information.
Deeply upset, Emily was brought to her mother’s car and the pair drove home to Kilkenny.
She had been due to travel to her company’s office in Dublin this week, something she was then unable to do. She also missed a medical appointment. Her mother, a teacher, also had to take time off work to help Emily over the past few days.
"It’s just been a major inconvenience and very traumatic for me and my family."
Emily said she was told by Ryanair that the chair had arrived back in Dublin on Tuesday. It was not returned to her until Wednesday evening.
She will be seeking compensation to help pay for the repairs to her wheelchair and to redo its paintwork.
“This should not have happened,” said Emily.
“And when it did happen, it should have been dealt with much more professionally.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the that wheelchair assistance at Charleroi, and at other airports, is provided directly to passengers by the airport, but that this is paid for by Ryanair.
"These airport wheelchair providers offer a very poor service," said the spokesperson.
"In this case, the passenger was boarded using an ambu-lift but the wheelchair service provider failed to deliver the wheelchair either to the aircraft or to Ryanair’s ground handlers in Charleroi.
"We apologise sincerely for this wheelchair service failure in Charleroi."
The spokesperson said Emily's wheelchair "was flown back to Dublin on Tuesday and was couriered to her home address".
"Ryanair apologises to Ms Felix for the unacceptable wheelchair service she received in Brussels Charleroi Airport, and we have spoken to the handler to try to ensure that it does not recur."