4 days ago
Disabled schoolboy 'lost his dignity' on Ryanair flight to see Andy Robertson
Daire Gorman was going to see Liverpool, featuring the Scotland skipper and former Celt VVirgil van Dijk, at Anfield.
A schoolboy was left feeling "like an inconvenience" when airline staff wouldn't let him take his wheelchair onto a flight with him, his mother has claimed.
Daire Gorman was on his way to see Scotland captain Andy Robertson and former Celtic star Virgil van Dijk lift the Premier League title at Anfield.
But the 13-year-old - who has no arms and no femur bones in his legs - was not allowed to take his power wheelchair with him on the flight to Liverpool.
And his mum has hit out at the treatment of Daire, who was born with a rare condition called Crommelin syndrome, which impacts the development of limbs.
Last year he met the entire squad and then-manager Jurgen Klopp at the AXA Training Centre, reports BelfastLive. But his trip from Dublin to Liverpool was not as successful.
Liverpool Echo reports that, just a few days before the trip, Daire's mother, Shelley, was asked by Ryanair whether the power wheelchair was able to be folded.
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They then informed her that the wheelchair exceeded the airline's maximum dimensions, which she told The Irish Times in an interview.
After being asked whether the wheelchair could be folded, Shelley "replied saying it was a power wheelchair and couldn't fold down."
When informed that the chair would be too big, Shelley rang special assistance customer service. She said: "I ended up ringing special assistance customer services and they asked could he not go without the chair, and refused to take his chair."
"As a parent, you try and do your best for your children and especially children with additional needs and protect them from negativity – my child needs his wheelchair, imagine asking can he not go without it."
She claims that Ryanair initially refused to offer a refund before relenting. In response to Shelley's complaints, Ryanair issued a statement to The Irish Times and rejected the claim it didn't offer a refund.
In the statement, the airline said "regrettably, these emotive claims made by his mother are false. She fails anywhere in her complaint to accept that this wheelchair exceeded our well-publicised max dimensions."
The power wheelchair wasn't needed in the end, as the family was able to source a manual wheelchair which was used on the day. Shelley said this caused more problems. She said Daire needed to use an "aisle chair" to transfer onto the plane seat.
She also claims that Daire entered the plane last, when the aircraft was full, resulting in him being pushed the entire length of the plane, "knocking off people" and "losing his dignity".
She added that "everyone" was "watching him transfer on to the seat". She said that the airline"completely took Daire's independence away and made him feel like an inconvenience".
A Ryanair spokesperson said the max dimensions information was "readily available to Ms Gorman when this booking was made and if she had simply complied with them then that would have been the end of the matter".
The airline also denies asking Daire's mum whether he could travel without a wheelchair and confirms that they did offer a refund. Furthermore, the spokesperson explained that wheelchair boardings are handled by the Dublin Airport.
Authority and not by individual airlines. The statement states that Shelley's "claim that ' Ryanair completely took Daire's independence away' is false and absurd".
Ryanair did not respond to The Irish Times' follow-up queries relating to Daire's positioning at the back of the plane. On Friday, Shelley appeared on Northern Sound radio to speak more on the issue:
"He was devastated. It's hard enough for someone in a wheelchair, especially a child with additional needs. They find it hard sometimes to fit in.
"So yeah, he was very upset. And he thought then 'oh this is my fault. If I wasn't in a chair this wouldn't be happening. So he was very upset." Ryanair has been contacted by our sister the Irish Mirror for further comment on the matter.
