« Left on the ground by Ryanair » because he was forced to move around in a wheelchair attached to a respirator. And so he presented a complaint to ENAC .

Daniele Rinaldo , an engineer suffering from ALS and whom the low-cost airline refused to board the flight from Cagliari to Venice on Monday because of his respirator, does not give up.

Rinaldo is the engineer who invented the barriers that defend the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, he is a consultant for various projects concerning the port and in the past he was also for the Mose. And he is sick with ALS. "But despite this, as a good ex rugby player, I continue to work and try to live as normal a life as possible, traveling quite often," he wrote in his communication addressed to the Italian body for flight assistance.

Rinaldo added that he traveled "without problems" to Tel Aviv in May and to Sardinia on 29 July "with the same company", clarifying that he did not find on the ENAC website, under the heading "Items prohibited in the cabin", any trace of this type of device.

“I then produced a statement from my attending physician about the need to use such a breathing aid. Nonetheless, in addition to making me wait for hours, I did not receive any kind of assistance, nor was I re-protected on other flights".

A version which, however, was later denied by the company: «In accordance with our Terms and Conditions, those machines (respirators) can be transported on board but it is not allowed to use them. As the passenger intended to do so, he was unable to travel and was offered a free rerouting on the first available flight from Cagliari to Venice the following day, which he declined.

Rinaldo then reported that he had been forced to take an Ita flight the next day with a stopover in Rome which cost him 600 euros . The engineer speaks of «an unbearable discrimination as a disabled person, perhaps linked to an overbooking situation given that the plane was full, thus sacrificing a person for whom there was a semblance of motivation . From a simple Google search I found a similar case, which also occurred last year with them: maybe the disabled are not welcome on board by Ryanair».

" I hope that Enac can ascertain the facts and sanction the company - the conclusion - while no one will compensate me for the humiliation suffered and for the physical and psychological discomforts of me and those who accompanied me: my hope is that episodes will not recur of this type".

(Unioneonline)

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