Ryanair, airport must share wheelchair fine

Ryanair and the British Airport Authority Stansted have both been found to have unlawfully discriminated against a disabled man by charging him for the use of a wheelchair.

The British Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that the airline and Stansted Airport had a shared responsibility to provide a wheelchair service to disabled passengers.

Ryanair went to the appeal court after being ordered last January to pay £1,336 (€2,420) in damages to Mr Bob Ross (54), a community worker from north London. Mr Ross, who has cerebral palsy and arthritis, was charged £18 (€32.60) for the use of a wheelchair for a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Perpignan in March 2002.

Ryanair yesterday lost its appeal that the claim should be dismissed but the judges ruled that Stansted also unlawfully discriminated against Mr Ross and should share the liability over damages and interest.

Ryanair said it would cut its wheelchair levy - charged on all tickets since last January - by half, to 25c, in light of yesterday's ruling.

Ryanair said it was disappointed that the British Airport Authority was not made 100 per cent responsible for the provision of wheelchair services "as is the case with the owners of all other public buildings".