AN IRISH wheelchair user says she was asked to leave her wheelchair and walk up stairs to board a Ryanair flight from Dublin to London 'for the sake of easiness.'
Niamh Herbert, 19 from Dublin, uses a wheelchair following her diagnosis with Friedreich's Ataxia at the age of 13.
Ms Herbert was travelling from Dublin to London last Friday, February 17, to attend London Fashion Week when the incident occurred.
While Ms Herbert was originally booked to travel with the airline on Thursday, a drop-out in her group of friends meant she could travel with colleagues from the Trinity College Dublin's Fashion Society on Friday morning.
Following the change in travel plans, Ms Herbert called Ryanair to confirm the name change from her friend's name to her name on Friday's tickets.
"I assumed they'd carry over [to the changed booking] the details of my wheelchair assisted booking, but obviously not," she told SkyNews earlier today.
"At the gate where we were boarding, Ryanair has a policy of boarding wheelchair users last so I was waiting behind everyone in the queue.
"When we got up to the top of the queue, they told me that I'd have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for assistance to come so I said that was fine.
"Then a member of ground staff came up to me and said 'for easiness sake' would I be able to get out of the chair and walk up the stairs - which is just a horrendous thing to say to a wheelchair user.
"I obviously look more agile than a 50 year old man with MS but it's the same thing; stairs are impossible for me.
"After that I did get quite upset."
Ms Herbert was unable to board her London-bound flight from Dublin Airport after she said Ryanair staff asked her to leave her wheelchair and walk up stairs 'for easiness sake.' (Picture: RollingNews)According to Ms Herbert, the pilot of the London bound flight then called the boarding gate to address the delay.
"He said he understood the delay was due to a wheelchair user but he was no longer willing to wait."
A Ryanair spokesperson said Ms Herbert arrived at the gate 13 minutes prior to the flight and had not booked any wheelchair services.
“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."
In response, Ms Herbert said, "I can't be sure, so I don't know how they're sure it was 13 minutes but I'm pretty sure it was a lot longer than that.
"Regardless of that, if an able-bodied person had shown up 13 minutes before a flight, they would have been let on no problem.
"I think wheelchair assistance should be a 24-hour thing and shouldn't just be there when you request it - which I did - so they can't argue that it was my fault in that respect."
Speaking to The Irish Post earlier today, Ms Herbert said any negative response she's received in relation to her experience is "blatant ableism."
"I've been facing a lot of negative response to it. I want to ask people, "would you have been happy if the plane pulled of on a loved one of yours in a wheelchair?" Obviously not.
"Any opposition I'm facing is blatant ableism, and I just hope people will decide to do the right thing and consider the basic human rights of myself and other wheelchair users."
Ms Herbert also told The Irish Post she intends to take legal action against the airline.
"I don't really know how it'll end," she said, "but I want people to be aware."
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