An airline was condemned today for charging a passenger the equivalent of half his airfare to take him from the airport terminal to the plane in a wheelchair.
Furious Craig Spence was handed a £9 bill when he asked to borrow a wheelchair for his 85-year-old grandfather, who has difficulty walking, at Belfast International Airport.
The fee for the 400-yard journey effectively added 50 per cent to the £19 single fare to Leeds Bradford Airport where William Spence was flying to enjoy Christmas with his family in England.
Today it emerged that the airline, Jet2.com, could face prosecution for discriminating against disabled people unless it changes its policy.
Although most airlines cover the cost of a wheelchair, which is charged by the ground-handling company, Jet2.com said it would only pay for two passengers per flight - provided they booked in advance.
The incident mirrors a case at Stansted Airport where a disabled man was charged £18 to get from the terminal to his Ryanair flight.
After that incident, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) took legal proceedings against the airline and the airport claiming it discriminated against disabled people. The judge at Central London County Court reserved judgement until the New Year.
Today a spokesman for the DRC said it would be willing to support Mr Spence if he chose to take similar steps against Jet2.com.
Mr Spence, of Wibsey, Bradford, said that the incident at the start of his grandfather's first return to England in more than five years had spoiled the trip.
"My grandfather was recently bereaved and we were all supposed to be rallying around him this Christmas, but the charge put a damper on the start of our holiday," he said. "I didn't tell him until we arrived in Leeds because I knew he would have been outraged.
"I was further aggrieved when I got home to see a billboard advertising flights to Belfast for £1. You could get nine flights for the price of a wheelchair to take you 400 yards. It's ridiculous. Poorer disabled people won't be able to afford to fly.
"Now my grandfather has to fly back to Ireland but he has refused to fly with Jet2.com."
Today Jet2.com chief executive Philip Heeson said he sympathised with Mr Spence but claimed the airline had to keep costs down.
He admitted the airline might change its rules depending on the outcome of the Ryanair/Stansted case.
"We take care of up to two people per flight as long as they tell us that when they book the flight," said Mr Heeson.
"That is our policy at the moment, but we will do whatever the law says. We are keen to help disabled people, of course we are. But when you are selling tickets for £1, paying for more than two wheelchairs is an increased cost for us."
A spokesman for Servisair, the firm which looks after ground handling for Jet2.com, said it charged £9 for the use of a wheelchair at Belfast and £6 at Leeds Bradford. That cost is passed on to the airline which could either pay itself or pass the cost on to the customer, he said.
But a spokesman for the DRC said the policy was discriminatory against disabled people.
"Disabled people should not be charged more for a service. Enjoying low cost air tickets should be the same for them as anybody else," he said. "We would be happy to speak to Mr Spence for help in challenging this policy.
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