Madam, - Last week I travelled with my mother from Dublin to London Gatwick on a Ryanair flight at a cost of €115.85 each. My mother is in her mid-70s and suffers from advanced osteoarthritis, which has recently resulted in her reluctant acceptance of a wheelchair to take her from the booking desk to the aircraft.
As we were travelling with Ryanair, my mother was charged €20.00 each way to and from the aircraft in Dublin and a further £15.93 sterling for the similar each way trip to Gatwick, adding a total of €83.00 to the cost of her flights! I contacted Ryanair on my return and was told I should have phoned them before departure so that I could be informed of the additional cost which would be incurred by the use of a wheelchair within the airport.
I am writing as an Irish citizen and a nurse to express my disgust that as the European Year for People with Disabilities comes to a close, it is a very sad reflection that a pensioner travelling with Ryanair had to pay €198.85 while I, as an able-bodied person, paid only €115.85. - Yours, etc.,
URSULA COURTNEY, Willbrook Lawn, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.