[Nfbf-l] Blind woman refused to be allowed to fly.

[Alan Dicey]

Blind woman refused to be allowed to fly.
A blind woman who was due to go on holiday to Majorca has spoken of her 
disappointment after being told by a travel company that she cannot fly 
unless she is accompanied by a carer.
Lauren Wigglesworth, 27, from Manchester, said she could not afford to take 
anyone else with her on the trip she had planned to feel more independent.
She and a friend, Stephen Sherwood, 24, who is also blind, were due to fly 
to  Palma for the break later this month after booking with Thomson Holidays 
at the  beginning of the year.
She said she was not told at the time that they needed to be accompanied by 
a  sighted person.
Asked how she felt, Wigglesworth told BBC Breakfast: "Very disappointed. I 
was looking forward to going on that holiday and now it's not happening.
"We haven't really got the money to pay for someone to come with us and that 
wasn't the point of the holiday anyway. The point of the holiday was to feel 
independent."
In a statement, Thomson said they were sorry the pair was disappointed but 
that they had been informed that they would need help putting on a life 
jacket.
The statement said the requirements were part of "the Department of 
Transport's Code of Practice that has been confirmed by the UK Civil 
Aviation Authority, to which Thomson and every other UK airline must 
adhere".
"Unfortunately, as Ms Wigglesworth and [Mr Sherwood] are not able to 
complete  these without assistance, we are not able to allow them to travel 
unaccompanied.
"We have therefore offered Ms Wigglesworth a full refund or the option to 
add  a passenger to her booking who could assist her and [Mr Sherwood] on 
their  trip."
Natalie Doig, campaigns officer for the Royal National Institute of Blind 
People, told the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-22365898
that any blind person had the right to fly. She  said: "They may need an air 
steward just to show them exactly where the life  jacket is underneath their 
seat... and just describe to them how to put it on," "There must be hundreds 
of blind or partially sighted people flying every day  in this country. I 
really think this makes a nonsense of the regulations."