Jersey Airport: Disabled children left stranded on aircraft

Ava, 13, and Corban, eight, have a disability that limits their mobility

Two disabled children were left on an aircraft for an hour and a half after it landed at Jersey's airport, due to a shortage of ground crew.

Corban, eight, and Ava, 13 have a disability that limits their mobility.

They were on a flight on Tuesday with their father Rory Steel, who said they were unable to disembark as no staff were available to help them.

Ground handling agency Swissport said it was "sincerely sorry" and would work to improve its turnaround times.

Rory Steel said disabilities should be treated as "a priority, not a bolt-on"

Mr Steel and family had been on holiday in Majorca, and were returning to Jersey with British Airways via Heathrow.

After landing, the captain made an announcement asking passengers to stay in their seats as there was "no information from the ground crew" about disembarking the plane.

Mr Steel said that, with two wheelchair-bound children, he thought: "This is going to take a while."

'Problematic, stressful'

He said: "There were not enough people on the ground to cope with baggage, people, aircraft and our children.

"It's usually at least two people helping us to get on and off with all the bags and everything else to go with it.

"Wheelchairs have to be ready at the base of the plane for the kids to get on and sometimes they're not there... it's problematic, it's stressful to have the home leg as the most stressful part of your journey."

Mr Steel said he and his two children were left without assistance for an hour and a half after the plane landed

He said it had been a "traumatic end" to their holiday, and that disabilities should be treated as "a priority, not a bolt-on".

A Swissport spokesperson said "a number of flights arriving at the same time and poor weather" had "exacerbated some resource challenges".

"We are working with our airline partners and the airport to continuously improve turnaround times," they added.

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