Geoff Jackson, 58, tells of his 'digust' at airline following his treatment at East Midlands airport
NO-FRILLS airline Ryanair has been blasted for refusing to let a granddad with Parkinson’s board a flight because staff thought he was drunk.
Geoff Jackson, 58, has launched a legal action against the airline which would not let him get on his flight to Spain – even after he produced a card from Parkinson’s UK which explained his condition.
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| Geoff Jackson, 58, has now launched legal action against the airline after he was prevented from boarding flight
The airline eventually wrote to Geoff to apologise – saying he should have informed them about his condition in advance.
Geoff told The Sun: “I’m disgusted by them. Sadly it’s quite a common problem. My symptoms mean that I shake and sometimes I sway while standing up.
“I don’t realise I’m doing it but I got the card from Parkinson’s UK when I got stopped from going into a pub because the staff thought I was drunk.
“That’s why I was amazed they still didn’t let me on the flight after I showed them the card.”
Former welder Geoff, from Hull, Yorkshire, was flying out to Magaluf on a stag do for one of his son’s best friends as he used to be their Rugby Union coach.
The party was flying out of East Midlands Airport on July 7 when staff stopped Geoff from getting on the flight.
He added: “They refused to let me on the plane because I had had a drink. I had had a pint but I was not drunk.
“I tried to explain I had Parkinson’s and that I am on medication and I showed them my card but they just dismissed it altogether.
“They just dropped me off outside the airport and I had to spend £178 on a taxi home and miss out on the weekend.
“When they wrote to me later on they said that their staff had noticed I was unwell and stopped me boarding for my own safety. If that was true, why didn’t they get me medical attention? Why just dump me outside the airport?”
Parkinson’s sufferer Geoff was looking forward to Magaluf stag do before he was refused permission to board
In a letter to Geoff, seen by The Sun, Ryanair said staff noticed him “feeling unwell.”
The letter adds: “The gate supervisor was called and made the decision to deny boarding for your own safety.
“Unfortunately our staff was not made aware that you were taking medication prior to the flight. Please note that Ryanair advises all passengers to contact us prior to the flight if a passenger is taking medication as the airport staff will need to be informed.
“The staff sincerely apologise for any misunderstanding.”
Geoff alleges Ryanair check-in staff accused him of being drunk before barring him from flight
Suma Surendrenath, from Parkinson’s UK, said: “Sadly, the ignorance of the symptoms of Parkinson’s can have a devastating impact on people with the condition.
“We hear all the time from people with Parkinson’s that they’ve been accused of being drunk and that people do not believe that they have a medical condition.
“Having a medical certificate or doctor’s letter can help people with Parkinson’s explain that they have the condition and why they are travelling with certain medication.
Ryanair wrote to Geoff to apologise for the incident at East Midlands Airport
However, it is vital that people, particularly in customer facing roles, have an awareness of Parkinson’s and understand that it is more than just a tremor. Everyone’s condition is different-and symptoms can be exacerbated by tiredness and stress.”
Geoff has now advised lawyers to try and get back some of the £500 that went down the drain as a result.
Parkinson's: What is it?
Parkinson’s is an incurable condition that affects the brain. Sufferers can have difficulty with movement and speech – often leading people to confuse them for being drunk. There are about 127,000 in the UK with the illness. Most people who get Parkinson’s are aged 50 or over but younger people can get it too. Parkinson’s doesn’t directly cause people to die, but symptoms do get worse over time.
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Nicholas Parkinson, panel solicitor for www.flightdelays.co.uk, said: “Geoff was entitled to make a claim for €400 EUR for the “trouble and inconvenience” caused by Ryanair refusing to let him on the flight.
He added: “The bigger picture here is not whether or not Mr Jackson is entitled to a humble sum of €400 EUR. What is of more concern is whether or not Ryanair’s staff are adequately trained to deal with these kind of issues correctly and in a professional and sensitive manner.
Geoff is bidding to recover some of the £500 that he lost in the incident
“Mr Jackson no doubt has to face these challenges on a day to day basis.”
A Ryanair spokesman said: “This customer, along with another member of their travelling party, was denied boarding at East Midlands as they were deemed unfit to fly by ground staff, for safety reasons.
“While we apologise for any inconvenience caused, we had no prior contact from this customer regarding their illness and we advise any customers with pre-existing conditions or illnesses to contact our customer service team before travelling.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1677205/ryanair-blasted-for-refusing-to-let-granddad-with-parkinsons-board-flight-because-staff-thought-he-was-drunk/
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