Ryanair and the airport Bordeaux criticized each other after a plane to from Edinburgh in Scotland was forced to turn back on the track after discovering that a wheelchair passenger had been left behind.
The Irish low-cost airline blamed Bordeaux airport for the error, calling the incident “ unacceptable”. Ryanair said the airport failed to provide the passenger “special assistance required” and claimed that the crew had been ” misinformed “ that all passengers had boarded: “It is unacceptable that Bordeaux Airport failed to provide this passenger with the special assistance required to board this flight from Bordeaux to Edinburgh, even though Ryanair paid for this service. Not only did they fail to board this passenger, but they also misinformed the crew of this flight by telling them that all passengers had been boarded when in reality this passenger had not, and the plane started to taxi towards the runway ». In response, the airport refuted Ryanair’s version of events and indicated that the passenger and her companion were present in the boarding area under the responsibility of the airline, “who decided to leave without taking into account his own customers”.
Flight FR 6700 was scheduled to take off from Bordeaux to Edinburgh on Tuesday at 10 p.m. The plane had begun taxiing toward the runway for takeoff when the error was discovered. The pilot then returned to look for the missing passenger and her companion. Ryanair said it was working with the airport to ensure that “this is not happening again” : “It is catastrophic that Ryanair customers requiring special assistance are being disappointed by Bordeaux Airport and we are working with them to ensure this does not happen again. »
The airport of Bordeaux-Mérignac described Ryanair’s statement as “false and defamatory”. The airport said the passenger requested wheelchair assistance from the airline when purchasing her plane ticket and that upon his arrival, an agent from a company mandated by the airport had been assigned to him to facilitate his movements until boarding. A spokesperson added: “It should be noted that throughout this time, the passenger remained the responsibility of the airline which organized her transport. The airport is only an infrastructure operator. When boarding for the flight to Edinburgh began, all passengers were directed to the aircraft by Ryanair’s service provider. The passenger in a wheelchair and her companion were present in the departure lounge at that time, visible to Ryanair staff and under their responsibility. When the escort assistant took charge of the passenger and her attendant to accompany them to their plane, they realized that the Ryanair teams had closed the plane doors and that the plane was moving. »
