Autismwomaninflight ordeal after panic attack
AN AUTISTIC woman was huckled from a plane by police after asking to move to a quieter seat.
Manuela Atzori faced a gruelling 24-hour wait to get from London to Glasgow after she was told to leave her flight by easyJet crew.
The 39-year-old businesswoman was returning home to Scotland from a trip to her native Italy when the incident happened on September 21
Having taken her seat, she started feeling overwhelmed by the noise and went to the back of the cabin to get some fresh air while the plane sat on the tarmac.
As she was standing next to the open door, air stewards asked if she was unwell and she explained she was autistic and was sensitive to noise.
Manuela said: “People were laughing and shouting and I said I was over-sensitive to it, and have mild autism.
“They gave me a seat but I was only there for a few seconds before another steward came over and said ‘It’s not noisy at all’.
“I asked if I could sit in another seat, but they said no and asked me to leave the flight.”
Manuela told staff she just wanted was to go home to Glasgow, and had flown with easyJet before without any problem.
However, cabin crew took her passport and boarding pass from her and ordered her to get off.
Police then huckled her off the plane, and the humiliated travellerthen suffered a panic attack as she was being led away in front of dozens of passengers.
After waiting five hours in the busy terminal, she later arrived at the gate for the next flight and was asked if she was OK to fly, to which she said yes.
However, staff returned a few minutes later and she wasn’t allowed on this flight either.
Manuela said: “I cried for two hours. I didn’t know what was hap- pening. I was so exhausted and stressed.
“There were no more flights to Glasgow for that day – it was about 11pm.
A spokeswoman for easyJet said: “Unfortunately Ms Atzori was unable to travel to Glasgow on September 21, as our crew had concerns for her well-being as she was clearly distressed.
“We would never prevent someone from flying because they are autistic.
“We transferred her flight and provided overnight accommodation and she was fully supported by easyJet employees along with the special assistance provider at the airport until she flew to Glasgow on 22 September.
“We understand the situation was difficult for Ms Atzori and have been in regular contact with her since.