[Impotent Rage]

Blind friends told by Thomson Holidays they can't fly to Majorca because they won't be able to see the safety demonstration

• Lauren Wigglesworth and Stephen Sherwood told they need a carer
• £538 trip to the C'an Picafort resort was booked in January
• But they have just been told they can't go - two weeks before their flight

Two blind friends have been told they can't go on holiday to Majorca together just two weeks before they were due to fly because they need a carer.

Lauren Wigglesworth, 27, and Stephen Sherwood, 24, were told by Thomson that they must take someone with them because they won't be able to see the in-flight safety demonstration.

Lauren was looking forward to the break at the the luxury C'an Picafort resort as she recovers from a gruelling 11-hour operation and prepares for her next stint in hospital.

She was so excited about her holiday that she had already bought all her holiday clothes, booked in to have her hair done and got her Euros.

They booked the break in January and were due to fly from Manchester Airport to Palma on May 8 but were told last week they couldn't go.

Miss Wigglesworth, of Urmston, Greater Manchester, said: 'It's just not fair. They wouldn't accept any kind of compromise. That was it.

'I'm absolutely gutted. They said we can go if we take someone sighted but that's not the point. It was my first holiday without my mother so I was really excited - no parents.

'I've already changed my money and the company gave me our tickets.'

Miss Wiggleworth suffered mid-facial disfigurement in the womb because of complications with her mother's pregnancy when hormones stopped being produced.

Read the rest at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317564

Seriously? You can't see the stupid safety demonstration that nobody watches anyway so you can't fly?

[Impotent Rage]

Bollocks!

[Faline]

how stupid.

And i'm going to hell for thinking "damn she's freaky looking"

[Megamel29]

That's ridiculous that they won't let them fly.

I wonder what happened to that girl.

[Faline]

Originally Posted by Megamel29 ↗

That's ridiculous that they won't let them fly.

I wonder what happened to that girl.

I did some research and found had she has some rare condition.

Miss Wiggleworth suffered mid-facial disfigurement in the womb because of complications with her mother's pregnancy when hormones stopped being produced.
The condition, which is genetic, left Lauren blind from birth. It is so rare that it is known to affect just 23 people in the world and doesn't have a name.

Read more here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...nstration.html

[bob351]

Originally Posted by Kelly ↗

how stupid.

And i'm going to hell for thinking "damn she's freaky looking"

If you are im going there with you, first thought opening this thread was dafuq then collected my thoughts and read the thread.

[kellyhound]

maybe now it's in the news thompson holidays will change their mind being afraid for bad publicity.

[gatagato]

As if life hasn't been cruel enough to them.

[chefbob09]

God dammit she can eat an apple thru a fence with teeth like that. If I looked like that id be glad to be blind

[gatagato]

They were not told at the time of the booking that they needed to be accompanied by a sighted person; and actually, according to the Department of Transport's Code of Practice, the basic requirement is that they are guarranteed "help putting on a life jacket", it's not specified by whom;

The problem is there, because it's up to the company to decide whether to train their flight assistants (or even just some of them) to "help putting on a life jacket" to a blind passenger (and to show to him/her the whole procedure before taking-off) or to leave the passenger in the hands of some PAYING carer, (no matter he knows or not what to do in case of crash).
You don't have to train a Navy Seal.

In many european countries a passenger has the RIGHT to fly without a carer, (up to 2 passengers for flight for the biggest planes),

and IF you are unable to guarrantee the right to flight to them, you must keep your planes on the ground, believe it or not: Circolare (n. 337373)

The point of their holiday was to feel independent, the point of the company was that it's better three eggs tomorrow than a blind chicken today, that's all there's to to it.