Guide Dog Disaster for easyJet

It seems nowadays when airlines are in most need of some positive PR, opportunities are often missed and instead they end up making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Joanna Jones, legally blind from the age of 16, regularly flies between London and Belfast yet was turned away at the airport because she didn’t have the paperwork easyJet required for her guide dog Orla to board the plane.

Even though Miss Jones has made the trip many times over the past 12 years and took necessary precautions prior to the flight she was left feeling,  ‘Upset, angry and disappointed’ with easyJet.

The flight from Gatwick Airport was booked months in advance, with Miss Jones calling the airline ten days before her flight to confirm that her special assistance was booked and the airline knew then that she would be travelling with a guide dog.

However when she arrived at the easyJet desk to check in for her flight she was initially asked for a passport for Orla, which is only required for international flights.

She said: “I was then asked if I had any type of paperwork to prove she was a guide dog, which I don’t.  So I pointed to her harness and the tag on her lead and collar and to the fact that I am obviously blind.

“They went back to speak to people in head office and came back to me and said that, if I don’t have the paperwork, I wouldn’t be allowed to fly.”

On Sunday, Miss Jones contacted the Guide Dog Association who sent her basic details to the easyJet service desk, including the number which is printed on Orla’s collar, but by then it was too late and she had missed her flight.

A spokesman from easyJet said: “easyJet welcomes passengers travelling with assistance dogs and carries hundreds each year.

“However, in line with CAA guidelines, easyJet’s regulations make clear that documentation must be carried showing that they are a trained guide dog.

“Guide dogs receive intensive training from accredited organisations like Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, to ensure that they can cope with the conditions on-board an aircraft. This is to protect the safety and security of the passenger, their guide dog and all other passengers.

“In this case, unfortunately Miss Jones did not have this documentation with her and by the time it was faxed through she missed her flight.

“easyJet staff offered every assistance to Miss Jones and transferred her free of charge onto the first available easyJet flight this morning.”

Miss Jones says that she is very unlikely to fly easyJet again and took to social media outlets to vent her dissatisfaction. She stated that she has confronted discrimination throughout her life, but nothing like this and over such a minor detail.

She said: “It makes you a little bit more cautious, a little bit more wary about the ease of travelling, usually it’s something I would have taken for granted.”

By taking a few extra moments to reconsider their options, what has become a very negative story for easyJet could have been just the positive PR boost they needed.

You know that when you book a flight with easyJet you don’t expect luxury, but you do expect to be treated fairly and issues dealt with in a manner that isn’t such an inconvenience.

Unfortunately for the carrier, Miss Jones is not finished talking about what happened to her and one missed flight is turning into one big mess for them.