Jet pilot bans deaf travellers

From: Liverpool Echo, UK - Jan 19, 2004

Daily Post

A GROUP of deaf holiday-makers from Liverpool were ordered off an Easyjet flight because the pilot decided they were a safety risk.

The group, from a Liverpool deaf society, were heading to Amsterdam and had already boarded the flight at John Lennon Airport when they were told to leave the aircraft.

This weekend the group won an apology from the airline but said they would be taking legal action.

Peter Edwards, the solicitor representing the 11 people involved, said: "One can't imagine the distress they suffered when they were told at the last minute that they would not be able to fly.

"The fact is that a group of people were denied the right to travel simply because they have a disability."

The group were later allowed on a different flight after another Easyjet pilot overturned the decision, but not before losing several hours of their holiday.

A spokesman for Easyjet said the captain took the decision on the basis of rules which state that flight crew must be able to evacuate the plane within 90 seconds.

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2004