[nagdu] . Blind man barred from Dubai flight over disability

[GARY STEEVES]

Hi:

This actually happened to the president of International Blind Sports when he was trying to board  a plane in Istenbal to fly to antalyia Turkey. They said that he couldn't board the plane because he was blind and flying by himself. He had been flying for about 12 hours from Manilla. He ended up  having to ask another passenger to act as his guide so he could board his flight. who would have thought things like this could still happen but the world is a very big and varied place.

Gary


----- Original Message -----
From: "Artie." <anolden at tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 5:19 pm
Subject: [nagdu] .    Blind man barred from Dubai flight over disability
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>

> 
> 
> 
> Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 5:41 PM
> 
> 
> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A blind American traveler says he 
> was stopped
> from getting on a flight in Dubai on Tuesday because of his 
> disability - a
> decision the government-run airline insists was a mistake it regrets.
> 
> Zuhair Mahmoud, of Arlington, Virginia, told The Associated 
> Press he ran
> into problems when he went to check in for a 10:10 a.m. flight 
> on FlyDubai
> to Amman, Jordan. He was planning a brief stay in the Jordanian 
> capitalbefore heading back to the United States.
> 
> "They looked at me and said: 'Well, we can't take you. ... 
> You're traveling
> alone,'" he recalled.
> 
> Mahmoud protested and asked employees to check with their 
> superiors. He said
> he was told that there was nothing they could do because it was
> <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101005/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_blind_traveler##>
> airline policy not to allow a blind traveler onboard unaccompanied.
> 
> "I was mad. ... I couldn't believe it," the 37-year-old information
> technology specialist said. "I tried to reason with them, but I 
> just got a
> single cold answer."
> 
> He left the airport and went to stay at a brother's house in 
> Dubai until he
> could catch another flight out.
> 
> The airline doesn't dispute Mahmoud's account.
> 
> Its chief executive apologized for the incident and said the 
> carrier does
> not discriminate against blind passengers or others with special 
> needs.FlyDubai also promised to rebook Mahmoud on another flight 
> that's convenient
> for him and offered him a voucher for a free flight to make up 
> for the
> mishap.
> 
> "This morning's events were extremely unfortunate and should not have
> happened. We will conduct a full investigation to find out what 
> went wrong
> in this situation and take all means necessary to ensure it does 
> not happen
> again," FlyDubai CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith said in an e-mail to the AP.
> 
> The
> <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101005/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_blind_traveler##>
> discount carrier has grown quickly since it was launched by the Gulf
> city-state's government in June last year. It focuses on low-
> cost short-haul
> flights throughout the Middle East.
> 
> Al-Ghaith is a former executive at Dubai's flagship airline, 
> Emirates. The
> two carriers operate as separate airlines, though both are owned 
> by the
> emirate of Dubai and are chaired by an uncle of the sheikdom's ruler.
> 
> Mahmoud said he is keeping his options open, including possible legal
> action.
> 
> He wants the airline and UAE government regulators to take steps 
> to ensure
> the same thing doesn't happen to others.
> 
> "I'm probably not going to come back to Dubai ever unless I'm 
> assured these
> sorts of things aren't going to happen anymore," he said. "The 
> real test is
> how it's handled and how it's reacted to. Mistakes happen all 
> the time. It's
> how you deal with them that defines who you are."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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