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Irish Paralympians ‘may miss games’ over Ryanair rules
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Ryanair's refusal to allow more than four wheelchair passengers to travel at any one time has left the Irish Paralympic table tennis team fearing they won't be able to attend international games this summer.
The sporting squad of up to nine hopes to travel to the French Open in Nantes from July 7 to 11, but Ryanair's direct flights to the French city will only take four disabled passengers at a time.
Mark Connolly (49), one of the Irish squad members, says the team may not be able to travel to the prestigious competition since only one flight per day goes to Nantes.
“It's really disappointing. Some of the people travelling are Paralympic medallists and they won't be able to take part.
“With most airlines, once you let them know in advance, they have no problem accommodating teams of up to 15.
“Ryanair need to recognise this as being a bad policy on their part.”
But Ryanair insists that the group can still travel to Nantes if they split up into smaller groups.
“The rules are the rules, and they are there for the safety of passengers of reduced mobility, and other passengers as well,” said a spokesperson.
“It was made clear that team members can get different flights at the time. There are outbound flights on July 2, 3, 4 and 7, and returning on July 9, 10, 11.”
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It is sad that some invalids are arrogant and unwilling to compromise, and can be so indifferent to the general safety of the public.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 24.02.10, 17:01 GMT