Mum blasts 'unfair' airline re-booking policy
- Published
The journey was to be Fae's three-month-old son, Charlie's, first holiday
An airline is reviewing its policy for rebooking cancelled flights following a mother's complaint it was "unfair" to those with special requirements.
Fae Clerey says travelling with her family meant she could not reach staff as quickly as others to re-book seats on a first come, first served basis.
She was flying from London Gatwick to Guernsey to attend her grandmother's funeral, which she missed.
Aurigny apologised and said it was looking into the issue.
Mrs Clerey's late flight on 11 June was already delayed when a passenger fell ill as the plane was taxiing to the runway. She remained on board until about 21:00 when the flight was cancelled.
The pilot told passengers the delay meant it would be "too dark" to land in Guernsey because of "lighting issues" at the island's airport, she said.
'Last in line'
Mrs Clerey was sitting at the front of the aircraft with other passengers who had "special requirements" such as mobility issues.
"We were sitting at the front, row three, maybe four and everyone was getting off at the back of the plane," she said.
Back in the terminal she says this left them "last in line" to re-book their tickets - which were being given on a first come, first served basis - as she was "slower off the plane" than others.
"If you don't have any bags, absolutely great, but if you need any extra assistance at all or if you're elderly in a wheelchair, or with a baby, you're just last in line," Mrs Clerey said.
Airline Aurigny is publicly owned by Guernsey's government, the States of Guernsey
Aurigny chairman Andrew Haining said the airline was looking to amend the system, which generally takes place when passengers have already boarded an aircraft which is then cancelled.
"We do have circumstances which are beyond our control. That was not our fault in terms of that particular situation, and I'm afraid that when a situation like that occurs, systems to support it aren't necessarily in the right place at the right time."