Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BLIND MAN KICKED OFF PLANE
Eric, 78, in tears after easyjet crew claim he & carer were drunk
A BLIND man was left in tears after being kicked off a flight home to Belfast, we can reveal.
Frail Eric Smylie, 78, and his carer were accused of being drunk and turfed off the easyjet plane in Paris.
Police locked up helper Davey Pogue, leaving Eric alone at a hotel. He said: “I lay in the room and wept.”
A BLIND and infirm pensioner has claimed he was ordered off an easyjet flight when airline staff accused him and his carer of “having drink taken”.
Eric Smylie, 78, was with his guide Davey Pogue when their trip turned into a disaster, leaving them stranded in Paris without medication.
The pensioner, from Lisburn, fears he will never get over the trauma he suffered.
Eric said: “I’m blind, diabetic and I have COPD, so being left in Paris on my own has been a terrifying experience. I keep reliving the panic attacks.
“I’m still shaking about it. I’ve lost my appetite, my confidence has gone and I feel nervous and afraid.
“My wife Meta, who’s very ill, didn’t know if I was dead or alive. Neither of us will get over this.”
Racing fans Eric and Davey, 64, had flown with easyjet to attend the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe on October 4.
They were due to fly home with the same airline into Belfast International Airport last Monday.
And Eric, who is registered blind, had special airport assistance booked to get him to the Belfast-bound plane at busy Paris-charles de Gaulle.
But instead of enjoying a flight home, they say they were:
■ Accused of “having drink taken” ■ Removed from the plane by easyjet stewards, and
■ Handed over to French police who separated them.
Davey was assessed by a French doctor who treated him for low blood sugar. Then he was taken to a police cell where he was offered dinner.
Meanwhile, Eric was left alone to negotiate a room at a hotel.
He added: “Davey was assisting me to the plane but when we got to the doorway one of the staff told Davey we couldn’t come on board because we’d drink taken.
“Davey said we’d had three drinks and he was annoyed and challenged them.
“The whole thing blew up. But the air stewardess said we had to go. There was a whole row. Davey was very upset because he felt responsible to get me home. We were not drunk. We’d had three pints of beer in the airport.
“Some other passengers from Northern Ireland stood up to try to help us and said it was obvious we weren’t drunk.
“Then the easyjet staff told us we had to go and they’d called the police. So we got booted off the flight and handed over to French police.
“I was shocked beyond belief. I found out later Davey was put in police cells and I ended up in the Holiday Inn Express. I was terrified. I couldn’t understand anyone or see anything.” Diabetic Eric left the hotel at
6.20am but had not been able to charge his phone to allow his wife to get a call through to him because he could not find his charger. He could not find his insulin either.
He said: “I lay in the room and wept. All Meta knew was I was missing and so was Davey. She kept trying to phone me but my battery was dead.
“When Davey got his phone back he’d had 52 missed calls.”
The friends, unable to contact each other by phone, made their way separately to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to find their way home.
Eric was helped to the easyjet desk and told the Mirror he broke down in tears when he was told they had no Belfast flights that day.
He added: “I was so frightened. People helped me and eventually I got an Air France flight to Dublin for £290 and when I got to Dublin Airport someone took me to the bus stop to get to Belfast. I was in tears.”
That’s when Carryduff woman Carine Duke stepped in to help.
Eric said: “Carine found me at the bus stop. She and another girl called Lisa, from Armagh, were so kind. Carine arranged a taxi for me.
“When I finally got home on Tuesday I almost collapsed and so did Meta. This was one of the worst experiences of my life. Only for the kindness o f strangers, I’d never have got home. Why did easyjet do this? How is that a way to treat a blind, sick pensioner?”
Davey got home via Manchester, not knowing where Eric was.
He said: “The woman said we’d been swaying – I told her she’d sway too if she was holding the arm of a blind man not firm on his feet while carrying bags on a plane walkway.
“I feel terrible. I should have been able to look after Eric better. I can’t understand how easyjet can act like that. It was a disgrace.” Businesswoman Carine said: “I could see how upset and shaken he was and I was outraged and disgusted when he said what had happened.
How can it be acceptable to treat a blind and frail pensioner like this?” A spokesperson for easyjet said: “We are very sorry that this incident has caused distress for Mr Smylie and Mr Pogue and we are investigating to fully understand what happened and see if any lessons can be learned.
“Mandatory safety reports filed at the time report the passengers were disruptive and aggressive towards our crew which is why the police were called to intervene and the passengers were not permitted to travel. We have contacted French police to understand how the two men came to be separated after they were escorted from the aircraft.”
Only for the kindness of strangers, I’d never have got back home ERIC SMYLIE YESTERDAY