Creating a fairer Britain
Carol Gustafson is a Labour councillor in Liverpool, and a former Chairman of the Merseyside Police Authority.
This story, however, is not about her, but about people she loves – a close male relative and his wife. She doesn’t want to name them, she says, because she is mindful of their need of privacy. But, she insists, their story is important, and it needs to be told, so others will be aware of it, and be helped.
Last autumn, her relative was on holiday with his wife in Florida. This woman has a serious medical condition, which means she cannot bend her leg when she is flying on aeroplanes for long periods of time. For this woman, the wrong arrangements on the aeroplane are potentially fatal. She could die.
So they decided to fly out to Florida first class, so the necessary legroom would be available. They had also booked the return flight in first class. They are not rich, but it was an expense they were happy to bear for the pleasure of the holiday.
But, in the middle of the holiday, Carol heard on the news that the airline had gone bust. All its flights were now cancelled, including the one that would carry her relatives home to England. Because Carol heard first, she telephoned her relatives in Florida to tell them. They were devastated. ‘If she is forced to bend her leg, the results can be quite serious,’ she says. ‘It could cause severe health problems, and even her death. They travelled out in first class to make sure this didn’t happen’.
There was little information available at first. The relatives went to the airport to investigate, and to the travel company’s office in Florida, and even telephoned the British government’s representatives in the United States. But nobody seemed to know anything that would help them. They were lost among the volume of passengers stranded. ‘They were all those miles away,’ says Carol, ‘and they had nobody to turn to.’ They couldn’t afford to buy new first class flights outright, and they couldn’t stay in Florida indefinitely. They were insured, and they would get a flight back eventually under those terms, but the medical condition would not necessarily be attended to. ‘There was no information,’ says Carol, ‘nothing whatsoever. And they couldn’t enjoy themselves because they didn’t know when they were coming back.’ Anxiety exacerbates her female relative’s condition.
Eventually the relatives heard that they were to return to England on a reputable budget airline, but this airline doesn’t have a First Class section with extra legroom. ‘He said it would be fine as long as there is the space for her not to have to bend her leg,’ she says. ‘But the airline couldn’t guarantee the space for her mobility and the medical issue is very serious.’
So Carol telephoned the Commission. She has mobility problems herself, and she knew that the Commission provided advice on the new law passed in 2008, protecting people requiring assistance with mobility on airlines. ‘If you have mobility problems, you need to be organised when you fly and you need support,’ she says. ‘I told the Commission that my relatives’ rights were potentially infringed.’
A man at the Commission, she explains, took the information from Carol and immediately acted on it because it was an emergency situation. He ensured that the carrier returning the couple to England knew the law. ‘He empathised,’ she says. ‘He got back to me within three hours with an update.’
‘He was very helpful in making sure my family was safe and got home safely,’ she says. ‘There was nothing but support. They kept me and my relatives informed and liaised with the Civil Aviation Authority who arranged the flight back with an alternative airline where seats were available, and ensured the right assistance was provided. It all went so smoothly. I can’t thank the Commission enough for the support they gave me and my family’.
‘She had her leg outstretched for the whole flight home and the cabin crew were superb,’ she says. ‘My family were thrilled and they arrived back safely’.
Thanks to writer Tanya Gold