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In a wheelchair, told to walk

A wheelchair-bound student travelling to London from Dublin says she was asked to walk up a flight of stairs to make her flight.

Niamh Herbert said she was trying to travel with Ryanair when her trip began to unravel. 

"We arrived at the boarding gate, at which point I was told I would have to wait 15-plus minutes to be assisted on with my wheelchair – I was annoyed, but I understand delays," she posted to Facebook.

"I got very angry then when the air host asked me would I be able to climb the stairs instead of waiting 'for easiness sake.'" 

She said she was shocked when the captain called the boarding desk to say he would be taking off, "no exceptions."

"Ryanair airhostesses left me sitting in the middle of gate 104 crying my eyes out," she said, adding she didn't even receive an apology.

Herbert said she wants the airline held accountable for its "discrimination."

However, the airline's account is different.

This is its statement:

“While we regret any inconvenience, this customer arrived at the boarding gate 13 minutes before the flight was due to depart and had not booked any wheelchair services. Our crew provided full assistance and as a gesture of goodwill, transferred this customer on to the next available flight, free of charge, and the customer flew to London Stansted. Thousands of passengers of reduced mobility travel with Ryanair on a weekly basis without issue and any customers who require wheelchair assistance are asked to book it in advance.

''Had this customer booked wheelchair assistance and arrived at the boarding gate on time, there would have been no issue. Every effort was made to accommodate this customer onto their flight and they were then transferred to the next available flight.''



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