6ft 11in disabled teen told to pay extra for legroom on Ryanair plane
BUDGET airline Ryanair came under fire yesterday after trying to charge a 6ft 11in disabled teenager for extra leg room.
Jordan Henderson, 19, was told he would have to pay £30 extra for a flight to Spain to celebrate sister Jenny’s 34th birthday next week.
Jordan has Klinefelter syndrome, a genetic condition that has caused his limbs to grow abnormally long.
Registered disabled, he is still growing and could continue do so until he is 21, his doctors say.
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I’ve seen him crying trying to fit into a normal seat
Jordan is booked to fly with a family party from Belfast to Malaga on Thursday, which includes his mother Dianah, 54, and sisters Samantha, 32, and Jenny.
The family usually fly with easyJet, which they say lets Jordan sit in a row with extra leg room without charge.
But when chartered accountant Jenny phoned Ryanair this week and explained her brother is too big for a regular seat, she was told it would cost £15 extra each way – almost doubling the £20 airfare.
Ryanair has since relented.
Jenny said: “Ryanair said it does not see that as a kind of disability because he’s not in a wheelchair.
“I’ve seen him crying trying to fit into a normal seat before. His legs are so long that they just won’t fit.
“He’s being discriminated against, I don’t think it is any different from a person in a wheelchair.”
Jordan, who also has a learning difficulty, has been supported by charity Disability Action.
Orla McCann, of the charity, said: “The protection offered to disabled people in legislation is offered to all disabled people and it is very disappointing that Ryanair has demonstrated such an antiquated understanding of that.”
But last night Ryanair said it had reconsidered and a spokesman said: “We have, as a goodwill gesture, waived the fee, but he will be required to pay it, on the same basis as all other passengers, if he wishes to fly with Ryanair again.”