Disabled easyJet passenger falls to his death on escalator at Gatwick Airport after waiting for special assistance
A DISABLED jet passenger has become the first victim of Britain’s travel chaos after falling to his death down an escalator at Gatwick Airport. The unnamed man had been waiting for special assistance to disembark the easyJet flight. But he became frustrated by delays caused by staffing problems and left the plane to navigate the […]
A DISABLED jet passenger has become the first victim of Britain’s travel chaos after falling to his death down an escalator at Gatwick Airport.
The unnamed man had been waiting for special assistance to disembark the easyJet flight.
But he became frustrated by delays caused by staffing problems and left the plane to navigate the packed North Terminal — where the tragedy happened.
A source said the passenger and his wife both required special assistance after their flight landed at the airport.
They explained: “A member of staff came to take the woman into the airport but the man was left on the plane.
“He must not have wanted to wait for the staff member to come back so made his own way into the terminal.
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“While on the escalator the passenger fell down and suffered serious injuries as a result and died.
“This is a tragic incident which should never have happened. Someone should have been helping him.
“There’s been a real issue with staffing problems and some disabled people have had to wait for hours for help.
“Normal airport staff have had to be reminded not to help disabled passengers if they’re not qualified to, even if it means passengers waiting for hours.”
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Gatwick’s North Terminal has witnessed chaotic scenes and huge queues for weeks as staff shortages have meant flights have been cancelled or severely delayed. Across the country, hundreds of flights have been axed in the past two weeks.
The tragedy happened at around 12.50pm on Wednesday — and comes after a quadriplegic woman was recently left on a Gatwick plane for 90 minutes.
Victoria Brignell said her wheelchair turned up at the right time but staff who were supposed to help her off were “busy elsewhere”.
At Heathrow, disabled journalist Frank Gardner was recently left waiting on a plane after he was told there were “no staff” to help him off. The wheelchair user said he was forced to wait “long after everyone else is off” due to a shortage of qualified staff.
Travel expert Paul Charles, from The PC Agency, said of the Gatwick death: “Questions will be asked about the lack of staff available to assist in the middle of the day when this flight arrived.
“It shows the increasing frustration of some passengers who can’t wait on aircraft for long periods hoping help may eventually arrive.”
Gatwick outsources its assistance services to provider Wilson James.
EasyJet said: “A number of our cabin crew provided medical assistance to a passenger at Gatwick whilst waiting for paramedics, however the passenger sadly passed away.
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“Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time.”
The nightmare for UK holidaymakers is set to continue as Unite and GMB union members, who work as check-in staff and ground workers, are voting over strike action at Heathrow.
DISABLED 'IGNORED'
A TRAVEL boss has claimed the tragedy was inevitable as the industry fails to look after the disabled.
Angus Drummond, CEO of Limitless Travel — which caters for disabled travellers — said: “It was only a matter of time. Does it take a death for airports to start taking action and for people to really wake up to the needs of disabled people?”
He said cost-cutting airports give special assistance contracts to the cheapest bidder, so help is “chronically understaffed and underpaid”.
He said the situation is worsened by increased shortages at airports, and went on: “For them, disabled people are a hindrance. But if done properly it can be a seamless and rewarding experience for all.
“In Spain special assistance is well staffed and well paid — and the service is incredible.”
Mr Drummond said he set up his firm “to enable disabled people to travel without stress, worry or fear”, providing a qualified care team for all its passengers.
He added: “The travel industry does not look after disabled people — so we have taken it into our own hands.”
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