EasyJet found guilty in French discrimination case

Monday, 16th January 2012

The airline said that the disabled passengers were not allowed onto the plane at Charles de Gaulle airport due to concerns over safety and denies any intention of discrimination. The carrier has since said it may appeal the decision.

But the guilty verdict in a French courtroom on Friday lead to a fine of 70,000 euros (£58,000) after head prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini argued that the company’s business model was to blame for the incident. He said that the firm’s policy of reducing costs in any way possible translated into discrimination by not allowing three passengers to board a flight because they had not brought a helper.

Karine Viera, one of the three wheelchair passengers, said that she had ticked the wheelchair box when booking the flight on the company’s website and was not given a refund after being told she could not check in, according to the APF disability rights group.

All three of the passengers were awarded 2,000 euros (£1,660) in compensation payments.

EasyJet has since said it carries about 1,000 passengers with reduced mobility on a daily basis and that the outcome of the case was “disappointing”.

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