Girl on school trip banned from Easyjet flight after losing boarding card
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A 14-year-old girl from Belfast who was on a school trip in England was banned from her Easyjet flight home after she lost her boarding card - after checking in.
Frances Wilson was set to fly back from Gatwick to Belfast International, but realised she had lost her boarding card after having it at check in.
The airline said there was not enough time to re-issue another boarding card before the flight's departure, so Frances and a teacher had to stay another night in London, and fly home the next day with Flybe.
Easyjet has apologised for the incident, but says that it due to security regulations, boarding cards are a necessity.
An Easyjet spokesman told the BBC in a statement: "We were sorry to hear that the passenger lost their boarding card after checking-in, however, it is the responsibility of the passenger and/or any adult leaders to ensure that any children in their party have their boarding card for their flight," the airline said in a statement.
"The safety and security of all of our passengers is always of our prime concern, and therefore in line with aviation security regulations we are not permitted to allow passengers to travel without their boarding card.
"Every endeavour was made to issue a replacement boarding card, however, regrettably there was insufficient time for this to be re-issued prior to the flight's on-time departure."
But Frances' mum, Emma, told Good Morning Ulster that she felt the problem must be quite a frequent one, and therefore something the airline should "be well prepared for".
She told the BBC: "My issue is that she had already gone through all the security checks.
"They had scanned her boarding pass, she had her passport there. She's not really a high risk person flying with Easyjet.
"They could have easily gone onto the computer screen and saw her photograph and confirmed it was her."
It's not the first time Easyjet has come under fire for its boarding policies.
In January of this year, the airline was fined £60,000 by a court in Paris for refusing to allow three disabled people to fly.
The passengers, all paraplegics, spoke of their 'humiliation' after they were barred from boarding Easyjet flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in 2008 and 2009.
At check-in, they were each told that they could not fly because they did not have a carer with them.
The no-frills carrier justified its decisions by claiming there would be a "safety risk". It claimed that under European law, they are entitled to refuse unnaccompanied disabled people because of the threat to security.
And, back in December 2011, a blind woman was prevented from boarding an Easyjet flight because she wasn't carrying the necessary documentation for her guide dog to fly.
Easyjet's corporate affairs manager Andrew McConnell said that the airline welcomed passengers travelling with assistance dogs and carried hundreds each year, but that Easyjet's regulations, in line with CAA guidelines, "make clear that documentation must be carried showing that they are a trained guide dog".
Do you think the airline was too strict in banning the schoolgirl from flying back to Belfast? Or were they justified in following their procedure? Leave your thoughts below...
Ten things we love to hate about low-cost flying
- Paying for payingIs it just us, or is there something seriously nut so about the concept of paying for the privilege of paying? It's a crazy, mixed-up world when you have to pay £10 to use a debit card which costs the airline around 20p to process. Of course, you could apply for one of the cards which are 'free' to use, but they change all the time and take hours to apply for. If we thought about it too hard we'd only ever sit at home and cry.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
- Clashing coloursMy dear, the garishness! Bright orange, purple, lurid yellow... it's enough to make anyone long for the days of a discreet livery of navy, red and perhaps a touch of silver. If you weren't feeling queasy before you got onboard, the combination of lime green uniforms and a £10 gin and tonic should do the job. Pass the sick bag – oh no, that's right, there aren't any.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
- Arriving at random airportsIt's all very well paying £3.99 for your flight to Stockholm, but you won't be feeling so clever when you land in a field in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lakes and forests, with no capital city in sight. Add on the taxes, extra charges and an hour and a half taxi ride into town and suddenly the national carrier flying to the main airport is looking like a pretty good deal. Especially when you factor in the professional service and free prawn sandwich you would have got...</p>
- Bonkers bookingAh, the joys of the online no-frills airline booking procedure... First off, let's assume you've got access to the internet (if you don't, you're pretty much stuffed, because the chances of finding a real live human to book with are about as high you being able to travel on one of the special offer days). You've then got to navigate the site without accidentally hiring a car, paying for golf clubs or adopting a small child. By the time you remember to print out your boarding pass within the correct time period, you're in serious need of a holiday...</p>
- Full-fare food and drinkThe recent story about a certain airline which gave a man a sandwich and a drink after he suffered a cardiac arrest – and then charged him for it – just about sums up the no-frills airline attitude to catering. It's all about the money, money, money. So, three letters for you: B.Y.O.</p> <p> </p>
- Speedy boardingSeriously, what is up with people who pay for speedy boarding? You haven't spent enough on extra taxes, credit card charges, baggage fees? Sure, whack on another hefty charge while you're at it, just so you can stand in the front of the queue and feel superior. The plane's not going anywhere until the povs at the back of the queue are on too, so save the twenty quid – you'll need it to pay for your cheese sandwich on board.</div>
- Baggage restrictionsNo, no, we don't really need to take anything with us on our holiday, honestly. We may be going to Norway for two weeks in January, but a toothbrush, t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops will do us just fine. The book, nappies, wet wipes and baby food ? No problem, they'll slip right into the one bag too, that's fine, don't need them at all, yes stick them in the overhead locker miles away from my seat, too. Marvellous.</p>
- No seat pocketRemember in the old days when the seat in front of you had a pocket you could stow your bits and pieces, magazines, bottle of water etc, instead of having to strew them all over the floor? They might be saving space and weight, but when your three-year-old starts projectile vomiting and the seat belt sign's on, suddenly a seat pocket full of sick bags makes a lot of sense. Ah, sweet revenge...</p>
- Lousy legroomJeez, there's nothing like 29" legroom pitch and a non-reclining seat back to force you to practice your yoga moves. Like human origami, we fold our limbs into unnatural shapes and wonder why we can't feel our feet by the end of the flight. And we're relatively normal! What it's like for a 6ft 7" man, or a 7 month pregnant woman with a 20 month old on her 'lap' doesn't bear thinking about...</p>
- Surly serviceOK, when you're paying more for your beer than your air fare, you can't expect silver service, but would a smile hurt? We feel for the cabin crew dealing with leery stag weekenders and bitter businessmen whose companies won't cough up for a proper airline, but it would be nice to be treated slightly more like a human being, less like a walking wallet from whom to extract as much cash as possible in a two hour period. Scratch card, perfume, magazine, £2.50 bottle of water, anyone?</p>
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