The family of a three-year-old disabled girl from Co Antrim who was ordered off an easyJet flight after she underwent surgery have described a compensation offer from the airline as an “insult”.
Brianna Millican was due to take a flight from London Gatwick to Belfast International on October 8 with her parents, after having flown out the previous week to get a specialist feeding tube fitted at London’s Portland Hospital.
The youngster was born with brain conditions Aicardi and Dandy-Walker syndrome, and the family were looking forward to returning to Moyarget, near Ballycastle, to help her recover after the surgery.
However, after boarding the plane at Gatwick, the pilot told Brianna’s parents, Danielle McMullan and John Millican, that their daughter could not fly, due to concerns over her fitness to travel on the aircraft following her operation.
The airline has said safety rules only allow travel a minimum of 10 days after abdominal surgery, along with a “fit to fly certificate”.
They were ordered off the plane despite having an email from the surgeon confirming Brianna’s fitness to fly, and contacting Portland Hospital staff, who spoke with the pilot in a phone call to assure it was safe.
Brianna’s mother said other passengers who spoke up in support of her were also told they could get off the plane if they opposed the decision.
The family disembarked the aircraft, carrying Brianna’s equipment including an oxygen tank.
They were offered a two-night stay in a hotel along with a rescheduled flight two days later.
However, lacking Brianna’s medicine as they had anticipated being home on time, a decision was made for her uncle to drive from north Antrim and take a ferry before an eight-hour drive to collect them, and take them home.
Danielle told the Irish News the family spent around £800 in costs, including fuel and ferry tickets, and had also booked a special assistance service at Gatwick, but it was not available.
She said easyJet has offered to reimburse the travel costs, and has offered a £150 flight voucher to compensate them.
“This offer is an insult after what we’ve been through,” she said.
“We were degraded on that plane, and made to feel like animals. It was inhumane.
“But this isn’t about money, or compensation - this is about standing up for people with disabilities, and to show companies that they cannot get away with this sort of treatment.”
She said the long journey home has “taken its toll” on Brianna, and said they are “trying to get her life back in order” following the disruption”.
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“A week later and we are still trying to get back into a routine with her after what happened, and now she’s feeling under the weather on top of everything else,” she said, adding the experience was “mentally exhausting”.
“It’s a shame, as on the way over to London, the flight crew couldn’t have been more helpful. They didn’t blink an eye.”
Danielle said she plans to challenge the budget airline further on their response to their ordeal.
“This needs to be a lesson for how disabled people deserve respect, and my hope is that other families like ours are not put in humiliating positions like this.”
An easyJet spokesperson told the Irish News they were “sorry” the family were unable to fly home.
“The Captain took this decision purely out of concern for the wellbeing of a child who had undergone abdominal surgery only eight days earlier,” they said.
“Safety rules require a minimum of 10 days and a doctor to provide a fit to fly certificate before a customer can fly.
“Our ground team did all possible to assist the family and provided them with hotel accommodation and transport, as well as offering to move their flight free of charge. We are also looking into their experience at the airport with their special assistance provider as this is not the level of support we expect to be shown to our customers.”
They added: “We remain in contact with the family to ensure their wellbeing and have processed their expenses and will also provide a gesture of goodwill. The safety and well-being of our passengers is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
