Aer Lingus 'deeply regret' the treatment of an Irish mother and her seriously-injured daughter in US airport
Aer Lingus HQ at Dublin Airport. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
Aer Lingus says it “deeply regrets” the treatment meted out to a mother and her seriously-injured daughter after the family was denied entrance to the business class lounge at an American airport.
The Irish woman had flown to Los Angeles to be by her daughter’s side earlier this month after her child suffered injuries in a freak accident while on a trip, leading to two emergency spinal surgeries.
The girl was subsequently approved by her surgical team to travel back to Ireland, provided she would be able to lie flat during and before her flight, and would not spend more than 15 minutes sitting upright at any time post-surgery.
However, once she arrived in California, she found it impossible to make contact with Aer Lingus, with a view to rebooking and upgrading her daughter’s ticket over the course of more than two days, with “multiple phone calls, long periods on hold, dropped lines, and having to start the process over each time”.
Eventually, she chose to buy her daughter a new flight, within business class, to expedite the situation.
The most serious issue experienced by the mother and daughter occurred as they waited for their flight home, however.
As the mother had not been able to afford to upgrade her own ticket to business class also, Aer Lingus refused her access to the business lounge to aid her daughter pre-flight, despite her offering to pay the cost of access.
Regardless, Qantas — the Australian airline which operates the lounge — said they would allow the daughter to enter anyway, until they noted that she was under-21, making it illegal for her to do so, unless accompanied by an adult.
Aer Lingus again declined to approve the mother’s request to enter the lounge.
“This went back and forth for 20 minutes while my daughter, sat in a wheelchair, began to cry in pain,” the woman said.
“The staff present were visibly shocked at Aer Lingus’ position.”
Eventually, the manager of the lounge assured their staff that there would be no repercussions from the child being allowed to access the area, given her condition. Aer Lingus continued to refuse its own consent, however.
The mother claimed that the Irish airline had been unconcerned by her daughter’s medical fitness to fly, one week after spinal surgery.
“A safety policy that actually mattered to her recovery went unchecked; a €50 cost to access the lounge did not,” she said.
“Between the various flights, we had paid the company over €9,000. They were prepared to gamble with our girl’s recovery over what amounts to loose change against that figure,” she said.
A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said the airline “recognises that this family encountered difficulties during their journey and we deeply regret that this occurred at what was already a very challenging time for them”.
They said that their customer care team had “thoroughly reviewed” the daughter’s original unused return flight and is processing a refund.
Regarding the lounge access or lack thereof, the spokesperson said that the airline’s sole consideration had been the lounge operator’s stipulation regarding under-21s, not the cost of access.
“Aer Lingus strives to provide support and assistance to customers travelling with special requirements, and we sincerely apologise for falling short on this occasion.”
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