Deaf, Blind Passenger Removed From EasyJet Flight Over Safety Concerns
Jackie Reddy April 10, 2017
Despite having traveled independently for almost four decades, Frankie Thomson found himself being escorted from a London-bound flight last month.
A deaf and blind passenger was escorted off of a London-bound EasyJet flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, after the plane’s pilot reportedly refused to fly the man over safety fears because he was traveling unaccompanied. Frankie Thomson related the incident, which occurred last month, to the Daily Record.
The 52-year-old, who was already boarded and seated on the flight, reported that he was tapped on the shoulder and escorted off of the plane. “I could feel people watching me wondering what I’d done. I felt people were talking about me,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
“I wasn’t embarrassed or anything – just confused and thinking ‘What was going on?’ I’ve never had any problems before,” Thomson said. The paper reports that he has traveled independently for over 35 years.
Speaking of the reason for his being removed from the flight, Thomson added that, “They said the pilot refused to fly me because I was alone. I told myself not to get too upset. Not to get too angry because I knew if I did, they’d just phone the police.”
Thomson also told the paper that he was concerned over the example that this incident might set for other travelers.
But a spokesperson for the carrier told the outlet that “EasyJet is sorry that Mr Thomson was unable to travel on his flight and understand how upsetting this would have been for him. The captain took the decision to offload him prior to departure due to concerns over his welfare after he was unable to communicate with the crew about the safety procedures.”
“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is always EasyJet’s highest priority,” the spokesperson added.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
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And in case of an in- flight emergency should the airline allot one crew member to assure the safety of one severely handicapped person, and forgo others? mmpower12 and Boogie Dog, reset your mindset.
You guys don't seem to understand... If there is an emergency and an evacuation is required, there is no one cabin crew member able to assist Mr Thomson. He would need someone to be able to explain to him (wondering how if he is deaf and blind) before he is moved. Time is of essence to get off the aircraft and Mr Thomson, though he may have been able to travel independently on his own would pose an emergency hazard to other passengers and crew. If Mr Thomson had a travelling companion, then the situation would be different.
Easy Jet crew members violate passenger's civil rights and make a half arsed apology to add insult to injury! How about training your employees to effectively communicate with passengers with disabilities? Maybe set in place protocol to seat them near crew jump seats? Running an airline isn't that Easy, is it?
“EasyJet is sorry that Mr Thomson was unable to travel on his flight" The man was perfectly able to travel on his flight. He made it to the airport, through security, and boarded the plane successfully. Seems the issue is one caused by EasyJet, not the passenger.
I don't accept this as great excuse to remove Deaf-Blind passenger. They have their right to fly to anywhere if they want to without any unaccompanied. Workers need to learn how to work with disabilities passengers rather than just shoo them away since they don't want to deal with them. This is just wrong! I will NEVER ever fly with EasyJet.