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	TX: 28.09.07 - Disabled Travel PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON

	THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE 91훑괵 CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. ROBINSON Now what would you do late at night at an airport if asked by airline staff to help a disabled passenger on to a plane? One You and Yours listener - Miranda Orbell - agreed to help but she soon realised that she'd have to care for this fellow passenger all the way back to the UK. In a moment we'll be asking the airline in question - EasyJet - whether it should have happened but first here's Mrs Orbell, who told me the story. ORBELL I fly to Toulouse from Gatwick quite often and I was coming back in August, August 14th, from Toulouse to Gatwick and I'd done the check in and was on my way to security when I was stopped by two members of staff. They had a Down's Syndrome girl - well girl she was about 30 I suppose but Down's Syndrome and they asked if I would make sure that this young lady gets on the right plane. I was a bit surprised but I agreed and we walked through together. And then it gradually became apparent that I couldn't really just leave her, she wasn't able enough to be left by herself and was in need of reassurance, so I sat with her for the sort of hour until boarding. We were called eventually. And we walked on to the flight together and I couldn't leave her, I mean she was obviously in need of a companion. So we sat together and I suppose the flight eventually - it was fairly normal, a bit of turbulence and every time there was turbulence we held hands because she needed some reassurance. We just chatted, she wanted to buy some things and I helped her with her money. She showed me her wallet, which I felt was all part of something that shouldn't have been happening because I'm not - well I am CRB checked because I'm a teacher but nobody knew that. ROBINSON CRB check - that means the Criminal Records Bureau. ORBELL That's right, I mean usually if you're put in charge of anybody - a child or anybody in need, a vulnerable person - you have to be checked for that specific service and I was just somebody they picked off the ground. Of course I couldn't sleep, which had been part of my plan because this was a late night flight. And when we got to Gatwick she had a very heavy rucksack which I lifted down and then she couldn't carry it, she found it difficult to walk. It was a very long walk with lots of those walkways and escalators and she clung on to my arm or held my hand the whole way while I carried the rucksack. And part way along the walk to immigration I found I'd left my driving specs on the plane while I normally I think I would probably have tried to get back on and find them but I couldn't because of my companion hanging on my arm and carrying her rucksack etc. Well we went through immigration together and then to baggage control, I found the right carousel for her and got her luggage off, got her a trolley and accompanied her through the customs thing and then finally reunited her with her mum who was - it was about two in the morning by this time - was somewhat surprised but she just said have you been together all the way and I said yes, and the girl gave me a big hug because she obviously felt quite affectionate by that time and off we went. Me driving home with no sleep and no glasses. ROBINSON Now you're obviously a good Samaritan and you did more than many people would have bothered to do, you're not happy about it though. ORBELL I'm not happy for two reasons, I mean one from her point of view - that's really the most important reason - I presume any airline should have procedures and services for vulnerable passengers, I know I can phone if my mother has to travel because she's in a wheelchair, I know I can phone and get some help. I mean I could have taken her passport or her money or just abandoned her and left her and she'd have been very - I think very upset really by herself for those five hours. And of course I have been trying to get EasyJet to find my glasses, it couldn't have been that difficult because I contacted them by e-mail, by phone, straightaway and also if they couldn't find them I thought they might actually like to contribute to buying a new pair. Anyway I put all this in a letter to customer services, having spoken to EasyJet people two or three times and that was the 1st September and I've had no reply. ROBINSON Miranda Orbell. Well Samantha Day is a spokesperson for EasyJet. Let's start with the thing that you have absolute control over - why don't you answer letters? DAY We do answer letters, I'm rather puzzled as to why Mrs Orbell hasn't had a reply so far. ROBINSON So is she, I think it's fair to say. DAY Essentially we do have a record of her letter and we do have a record of responding to her - an e-mail - I'm not quite sure why she hasn't replied to that. ROBINSON Well I think what happened is that she phoned you and she e-mailed your staff, she wasn't happy with the response that you were not going to replace her glasses so she wrote to you a month ago and she's had no reply. DAY Well that's something that we can certainly pick up and look into but as far as our records are concerned we have replied to all of the responses that she sent to us. ROBINSON Why did it happen then and should it have happened in the first place? DAY Well this is a very unusual situation. Usually what happens is that passengers who require assistance at the airport will let us know in advance, we can then make plans - make arrangements, allocate resource - to ensure that they're provided with the assistance that they require. If passengers don't request assistance in advance and they subsequently turn up at check in and then ask for assistance then we do everything that we possibly can, it does take time to arrange that and it may mean that we can't offer the normal level of service that we would which is why it's essential that people contact us in advance. In this case, however, the passenger hadn't requested assistance in advance and she checked in as normal at check in. Now legally we cannot question a passenger's ability levels and by that I mean if a passenger appears to have a disability we have to respect their wishes ultimately, who are we to impose our views and say we're a little bit concerned you can't cope. ROBINSON In which case then why ask another passenger to help? DAY Well it's our policy not to ask passengers for assistance. ROBINSON But you did on this occasion. DAY We did on this occasion. We're still investigating that because it certainly is against our policy, we're unable to ascertain who that member of staff was. Our ground staff at Toulouse don't actually wear the EasyJet uniform and they - Mrs Orbell was approached at security, so we're not sure if it was an overly cautious airport member of staff or if it was an EasyJet member of staff. But regardless of who it was this person was clearly trying to do the right thing but wasn't actually following EasyJet's policy. ROBINSON And in the circumstances don't you think you should pay for her specs? DAY That's certainly something that we can look into. Mrs Orbell obviously acted out of the goodness of her own heart, she assisted the passenger throughout her whole journey... ROBINSON But will you pay for them? DAY If she can submit receipts to us then we'll certainly look at that and see what kind of contribution we can make as a goodwill gesture for her help on this occasion. ROBINSON So is that a yes or a no? DAY That is a yes, we will make a contribution towards them. ROBINSON How big a contribution? DAY Well it depends how much the glasses cost, so we can have that conversation with her but certainly we are grateful for her assistance. It's a very unusual situation and we appreciate her help. ROBINSON To what - you'll pay up to what then, up to how much? DAY I don't know how much her glasses are going to cost ... ROBINSON I think she said £120. DAY ... but I can give you a commitment. ROBINSON One hundred and twenty pounds. DAY Okay, well when we get the receipts in for that then we'll make a significant contribution towards that. ROBINSON Samantha Day thank you and this item will be available as this week's disability podcast which you can get via our website. 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