2nd February 2012

The in-house critic and I are about to put easyjet to the test.

Not for the first time I might add and on every previous occasion they have passed with 'flying' colours.

But we are heading off to spend Lent and Easter undertaking Locum Duties in a parish in the Diocese of Europe.

These days travel becomes testing not only for us, because it involves wheelchairs which raise all the access issues that able bodied people have no need to be aware of.

So when we present ourselves at the check in desk we have to request special assistance to get us onto the aeroplane and we have to ensure that the wheelchair is also loaded into the hold and when we arrive at our destination we have to request that the wheelchair is brought up the steps or onto the air bridge.

There are always two worries: firstly that the wheelchair will fail to arrive at the destination and secondly that the baggage handlers will put it onto the carousel.

Whilst the chair has always arrived, it was, on one occasion at a large airport in the UK put onto the carousel, when we retrieved it it was so badly damaged that it was unusable and I had to carry it out to the car.

I challenged a member of the airport staff who reacted in strong terms to the effect that the damage had been done at the departure airport, it was neither their fault nor their problem and if I persisted with my complaint he would contact the union and their would be consequences!


What the consequences might be was not spelled out. I pointed out that whoever was responsible there were already consequences insofar as we could not leave the airport without some form of assistance, which as I recall was finally grudgingly offered in the form of an airport wheelchair.

Maybe he was having a bad day, maybe it was the time, some unearthly hour in the morning, maybe it was the weather, but he was determined that whatever it was we could share his bad day.

Fortunately that was an isolated incident and ever since we have been treated very well by everyone we have encountered, wished well on our departure and welcomed home on our return, so here's hoping that this trip will continue that tradition.

The reason that I mention all this was a report in my newspaper about another low cost airline which has been taken to court over its refusal to allow a disabled passenger to board the plane and in the same article there was mention of easyjet.

I am unaware of the particular incident but have to say that in our experience easyjet have always offered an excellent and friendly service.

That is only how it should be if we do live in a 'big society' and are 'all in this together' then whatever our circumstances we should have an entitlement that our human rights will be respected that access will be made possible and that life will be, if not trouble free, at least as easy as it can be.

Many disabled people complain about their treatment and often as our own recent and rather unpleasant experience recently demonstrated the police appear to have little or no interest when a complaint is made.

But we set off in the hope not only that we arrive at our destination but that we have a pleasant and easyjourney.