Flying into trouble

It was to be liberating for me and exciting for my six- nearly seven-year-old daughter. We planned to fly to France to visit relatives but decided not to book any airport assistance as I usually do because I am blind.

We both thought that Poppy was a good enough reader to decipher the computerised screens and to work out our way through the maze of baggage and passport control to find the gate, departure lounge and the inevitable chocolate muffin stop.

Our journey out to Bergerac ran very smoothly. I had explained the sequence of events to expect following check-in at an airport and what signs to look out for. Poppy was feeling very grown-up and proud of herself by the time we successfully sat ourselves down in the coffee bar by the departure gate. As a veteran traveller, I have traipsed though airports trying to be friendly and appreciative with my groundstaff guides. At last I was enjoying the privacy of being a deux with my daughter and the freedom of stopping, sitting, and wandering as we wanted.

It was the return journey that put an end to our successful, independent travel. We were waiting to board, but waiting that bit too long. The lounge was
becoming crowded and the mood restless. Then came the dreaded announcement that our Southampton flight had been cancelled.

There were six places left on a flight leaving for Birmingham immediately. Further seats were available for a flight to Manchester, but only after a delay of seven hours, or passengers were to be accommodated in Bergerac overnight. We were then invited to step forward if we wanted the Birmingham flight.
There was a sudden surge of people towards the desk, swarming like bees around a honey pot, with fit young men jostling and pushing to the front. Poppy would not even have been tall enough to poke her head over the counter, let alone survive the scrum.

It took a moment, but I managed with Poppy’s help to get the attention of a member of staff who was not already sucked under. I explained that I could not see and that the change in travel arrangements meant that I now needed more help than Poppy could give. I also said that being blind and alone with a small child meant that it would be more difficult to stay overnight in a hotel. Nor did I want to arrive late at night in Manchester when I lived in London. I therefore requested that we be given seats on the Birmingham flight as a priority.

By the time this information was conveyed to the staff allocating seats, the seats for Birmingham were taken on a first come first served basis. It was survival of the fittest. I was astounded, not least because in the normal course of events, priority passengers are put first. Priority passengers are those with children, disabilities or the very elderly. Even if the staff could claim that they did not know soon enough that I was blind, they could see that there were only two children on the passenger list and should have given priority on that basis alone.

At the time, and long before the Birmingham flight departed, I was assertive with the staff about how much more difficult it would be for me to arrive late at night in Manchester and that they should reallocate the seats to Birmingham with a view to getting the people with the greatest need home soonest. What I got was a seven-hour wait, flights to Manchester, confusion, queuing and further delays at Manchester, and finally onward flights arriving in Southampton around 11pm. My little guide resigned at some point on her journey through boredom, grumpiness, exhaustion and into sleep. It was only with bullish determination that I persuaded the airline that they should pay for a taxi to take us to London rather than expect us to get a train at nearly midnight.

After a formal complaint, the airline offered us a credit note but said that they operated a first come first served policy when offering alternative travel arrangements. They also said that in my case “no priority assistance was pre-booked”. It is therefore unclear as to whether a disabled person must book assistance regardless because, if not, in the event of an unexpected problem, they will not be given priority help. Or does the first come first served policy mean that there is no point in registering your disability because you won’t be first in the bun fight anyway? Travellers beware!

• Jasmine and Arnica, Nicola Naylor’s book on travelling alone through India and learning about alternative healing, is published by Eye Books, priced £9.99, and is available from all good bookshops and www.eye-books.com