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Elderly passengers left behind in Spain when UK flight takes off without them
The reduced-mobility travellers ended up missing their flight from Lanzarote to Liverpool
Two elderly passengers who had booked the special assistance service for people with reduced mobility were left behind at César Manrique Airport in Lanzarote, missing their easyJet flight to Liverpool.
According to another traveller, the older passengers “were abandoned and forgotten when boarding, which caused them great distress”.
The company responsible for the mobility assistance is Mitie, a subcontractor of Aena, Spain’s airport management company. Aena has stated that it “is investigating what happened with the company responsible for the service” and that it "will act accordingly, in accordance with the current terms of the contract.”
The incident occurred on Thursday March 13 and unfortunately, before anyone noticed the pair had been left behind, the easyJet flight had already taken off for the UK. After a long wait, Mitie eventually rebooked the couple on another flight to Liverpool.
However, one passenger pointed out that the event “underscores the serious deficiencies in the management of assistance services for people with reduced mobility at some airports.”
Aena insists that the assistance service for people with reduced mobility in Lanzarote “is generally a highly valued service” and that it is in “very high demand.”
According to Mitie’s data, 91,000 assistance services were provided in 2024, with only 0.01% complaints.
But on the flip side, others have criticised the “serious precariousness of the service at Lanzarote Airport, which is facing work overload and staff shortages, which is causing a collapse in service quality.”
The same sources also claim that employees have complained that “working conditions are extremely difficult, with gruelling hours, constant pressure and a lack of staff, which directly impacts the treatment of passengers.”
Image: Freepik
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