Ryanair under fire over hidden disability

A WOMAN who suffers from a hidden disability has contacted the Echo to raise awareness of a complaint she has made against the airline Ryanair and its lack of response.

Louise Allen suffers from bladder pain syndrome, which she says causes severe pain if she cannot access a toilet.

She told the Echo that not only did Ryanair flight attendants reprimand her but also mocked her, after she says she had to use the toilet on the craft when the warning lights were on the trip home from Portugal in October.

Mrs Allen says that when she initially arrived at East Midlands Airport, she was given a green disability lanyard to wear and was told her journey would be much smoother and it would help staff to understand in the airport and also on the aircraft.

She says that when she boarded the aircraft for the flight home from Faro, she informed a lady staff member and showed her a letter explaining her disability and said that the lady allowed her to use the toilet before the take-off.

Mrs Allen says that everything went fine during the flight.

However 20 minutes before they were due to land she says she got up out of her seat to go to the toilet, and just as she was up in the aisle on her way, the seat belt sign came on and a man came over the tannoy and said it was now prohibited to use the toilet and the seat belt sign was on.

She told the Echo “Because I was already up at that point I thought I need to go, because I can’t wait. Because if I wait I would get in a lot of pain and I wouldn’t have lasted for 20 minutes.”

She said she used the toilet, but when she came back a member of the aircraft crew gave her a very disapproving and annoyed look. She said she asked him if there was a problem.

She said he asked why was she out of her seat and she replied that it was because she had bladder pain syndrome and needed the toilet and had already explained it to his colleague when she boarded.

She says he turned round and said she needed to listen and learn about Ryanair’s rules.

“I replied, I don’t care about your stupid rules, all I care about is my bladder and my condition and getting myself to the toilet.”

She says he was very rude to her, shouting, raising his voice and very inconsiderate.

She said: “This made me feel very, very upset and very angry for how I had been treated by this man.”

She says that when they landed she asked his colleague for the man’s name and the staff crew member refused

Mrs Allen then said that she told them would not be leaving until she was given the man’s name or had spoken to the captain.

She then says the man then appeared again.

She asked him his name and says he replied giving a name and burst out laughing and so did the other woman crew member.

Mrs Allen said that she told them she wasn’t wearing the lanyard for no good reason and that she had a hidden disability, to which she claims the woman staff member replied: “Yes I have hidden disability too” and was mocking her and laughing as she was saying it.

Mrs Allen says she asked: “What you have bladder pain syndrome?” and the staff member replied: “I have problems, I have problems, who cares, who cares?”

Mrs Allen says she was absolutely disgusted with how the staff treated her.

She also added another complaint that she felt she should not have had to pay for her aisle seat given her disability: “The reason being I need an aisle seat is because I need to get access to the toilet quickly.”

She told the Echo that she had contacted Ryanair with her complaint but has not received a reply.

The Echo has asked Ryanair for a comment three times since the beginning of December.

Although the newspaper received an electronic e-mail acknowledgement that its request had been received by the airline’s press office, it has yet to reply.