Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair has notched up yet another ‘politically incorrect’ story – this time centring on the blind man refused permission to board a flight from Lisbon to London with his guide dog.
Samuel Natário, 32, has travelled throughout Europe with golden labrador Yolo.
As the news website for the country’s firefighters explains, “according to European laws, blind people can travel with their guide-dog throughout the EU” as long as they have all the necessary paperwork.
Samuel Natário has all the necessary paperwork, and says he has never experienced any problems with TAP, KLM, Czech Airways. In fact he even flew all the way to the United States with his guide dog.
But Ryanair wasn’t having any of it.
Says ‘bombeiros24’, Ireland and UK require one ‘extra’ bit of paperwork: proof that the guide dog was trained at a school that is part of the International Guide Dog Federation.
Samuel’s dog was indeed trained at a recognised school, but for some reason or other Ryanair’s representatives hadn’t heard of it.
Thus Samuel, and his dog, missed the flight.
Ryanair has since said that it will be ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
