Easyjet staff denied asthmatic girl entry onto flight, family claims
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One angry father claims that his 10-year-old daughter, who has a rare form of severe asthma, was recently denied entry onto an Easyjet flight and forced to lie on the floor of London’s Gatwick Airport as she waited to receive medical attention, after arriving just a few minutes late for their flight.
The mishap allegedly left the family stranded for two days in the air hub, though reps for the carrier claim that the group was denied boarding because they arrived nearly twenty minutes late for their scheduled trip.
On July 10, Abigail Campbell arrived at Gatwick after a vacation with her family in Turkey, The Sun reports, before things quickly took a turn for the worse. The youngster and her family supposedly arrived three minutes late to their Easyjet gate for their connecting flight to Douglas on the Isle of Man, because the girl became “tired” from her asthma.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SUITOR ADMITS PHONING IN FAKE BOMB THREAT IN BID TO GET DATE WITH FLIGHT ATTENDANT
One angry father claims that his 10-year-old daughter, who has a rare form of severe asthma, was recently denied entry onto an Easyjet flight and forced to lie on the floor of London’s Gatwick Airport as she waited to receive medical attention, after arriving just a few minutes late for their flight. (iStock)
The Sun reports that Abigail suffers from Brittle asthma, a rare, life-threatening form of the allergy that affects less than one percent of asthmatics, as per WebMD. Brittle asthma that can prove difficult to control and predict.
The little girl’s father, Keith, alleges that though the family arrived at their boarding gate three minutes late due to the medical issue, they were not allowed to board their plane.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In photos and video footage obtained by the outlet, the little girl is seen lying in evident pain on the floor while Keith argues with an Easyjet staffer about the turn of events.
"Easyjet is happy to leave a sick child on the floor are they? Is that what you're telling me?" the furious dad reportedly charged.
"No, no you have [Abigail] on the floor because you want to, you are recording her because you want to,” the Easyjet worker allegedly said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The airline staffer soon left the scene, and Keith claims that an hour and a half passed before anyone from the carrier came back to check on them.
Witnesses to the scene were reportedly "shocked and horrified,” The Sun reports.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Additional footage features Abigail later receiving treatment from breathing apparatuses at Gatwick, according to the outlet.
Making matters worse, the Campbell family was allegedly left stranded at the busy London air hub for two days after the incident, as per the outlet
In a comment to Fox News, the budget airline apologized for the incident:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The little girl’s father, Keith, alleges that though the family arrived at their boarding gate three minutes late due to the medical issue, they were not allowed to board their plane. (iStock)
“We are sorry for the Campbell family’s experience at the customer service desk. They did not receive the level of care we expect to be delivered by our ground handling partners and so we are investigating this with them,” a spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately, the family arrived 17 minutes late to the gate and, whilst we held the gate open longer than usual to try and accommodate them, we were eventually required to offload their luggage to ensure that the flight and all other passengers on board could depart,” the rep continued.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We provided Mr. Campbell and his family with alternative flights free of charge, as well as hotel accommodation and expenses,” the airline spokesperson continued. “We have since been in touch with Mr. Campbell to apologies for his experience and offer a gesture of goodwill.”