Its been almost six months since my last blog and I am actually sharing more than blogging today.
This is an article my good friend Mel Griffiths has written about her last visit to Tenerife with her husband Gavin.
Gavin and Mel are both blind and this article just highlights some of the problems they encountered on their visit here. They had an amazing holiday in Los Gigantes and the majority of people were very friendly and helpful. The one thing that let them down was the assistance at the airports, both here and in the UK. I find it very sad that they were treated in this way which is why I've decided to share Mel's post.
I hope it raises some awareness and helps others in the same or a similar position.
I'd really like this to be read far and wide, so, as I've said before, if you're thinking of clicking the Like button, please don't, click the Share button instead, it has so much more impact.
Flying Blind
Experience of a Totally Blind Couple Travelling by Air
Introduction
My husband and I are both totally blind and travelled to Tenerife in 2019 with family members. We loved it so much we at once booked again and were due to fly out in May 2020. Of course, no one was flying anywhere in May 2020 so after a couple of cancellations and re-booking, we eventually set out for our holiday on 1 May 2022. As we had no sighted companions for this trip, we booked assisted travel through TUI. A TUI representative confidently told us that someone would be there to take us to wherever we needed to get to whilst at the airport. This could not have been further from the truth.
Birmingham Airport
We arrived at the airport three hours before our flight and were taken to the Assisted Travel desk by our lovely driver. Incidentally, I’d book a chauffeur again in an instant. The extra cost meant that he could come into the building with us to ensure we arrived at the right place and was well worth paying for. Coincidentally, 1 May was also the day when the BBC reported that an 87-year-old lady who is a wheelchair user missed her flight because there was no one to assist her. We didn’t miss ours but I believe we came very close.
All seemed to go well initially. We were taken to check in and then past a long line of people at security. Once through we were taken via several corridors which necessitated the use of a swipe card to get through. The staff member told us proudly that this would take us to where we needed to be without having to go through duty free. So, there was my opportunity for a bit of pre-holiday shopping deftly circumnavigated.
However, what happened next was far more disturbing. We came out into a big open area with seats. We were directed to two, which we were reliably informed were blue, and were instructed to sit there. Someone would be with us an hour before our flight time. I asked if I could be directed to a toilet and was told that the staff member’s job was just to sit me on the blue seats.
It's not easy as a woman to have to ask a strange man to tell me where the toilet is but it’s far worse to be told no. Fortunately, in my 57 years as a blind person, I have developed good bladder control just for this very reason, coupled with the fact that toilets are usually so difficult to find and navigate.
Our flight was due to take off at 15:15, and when 14:15 came and went, we started to worry. I had asked if there was a number to call if any problems arose and was told no. my husband phoned TUI who were unable to help but who gave us the number for Birmingham airport Assisted Travel. It rang and rang but was never picked up. By this time I was very close to panicking. There we were in a wide open space with no point of reference for a blind person. No information desk where we could ask questions. No one on the end of the phone and, to top it all off, no flight announcements which it would seem no longer exist at airports.
When it got to 2:45 we realized that we had to be proactive. I stood up and walked towards a lively conversation that I could hear and asked if anyone could see any airport staff. A gentleman overheard me and identified himself as staff. Not assistance staff but a plumber and a total life saver. He checked the board, found which gate we were supposed to be at and took us there. We joined the queue behind two people using wheelchairs so thought we’d be fine. When we got to the desk the man said to his colleagues, “How did they get here? We’re not trained to help them.” We eventually did get help to board and made it safely to Tenerife South where a lovely Spanish airport official took us through security and helped us reclaim our luggage and find our transfer.
Tenerife South Airport
I’m sad to say we had a very similar experience in many ways on our return flight. Check in and security, a doddle, even better in fact as we had one person each to help us. Once through security our hearts sank when we told we were going to be taken to the meeting point. Someone would be with us in an hour. We knew from the TUI app that boarding closed for our flight at 8:30. At 8:15, we asked a fellow passenger if she could see any flight details, which she could, our flight was boarding at gate 35. She also said that she could see the people who had brought us through so very kindly went to speak to them on our behalf. We were then confronted by a very abrupt man who told us to sit in the seats and wait. Once again, no one to ask, no number to call and, the added bonus of an announcement to tell us to watch for flight times on the boards as these would not be announced on the public address system. Rub it in, why don’t you!
Someone did come for us and we boarded without further incident but after tears of total stress and frustration from me.
Observations and Thoughts
As totally blind people, my husband and I are confident to speak out and to ask for help when we need it. It’s a way of life for us and although it can be difficult at times, most people are helpful.
I can honestly say that the process as it stands at the two airports which I’ve written about above left me feeling totally helpless. Sitting on those seats felt like being on an island in a sea of noise and confusion. With no one to call or audible information we felt totally stranded with real fears that we would not be able to catch our flight. There really needs to be better communication avenues for blind people left in this situation.
Would I Do It Again?
I’d like to say no, not as things stand at present. The thought of putting myself into such a helpless situation again is truly frightening, particularly if even my most basic human needs cannot be met. There really needs to be better help available for blind people travelling alone or without a sighted companion. Contrary to increasing popular belief we don’t all have a sighted person to help us everywhere we go.
The reality is different though. We want to visit our friends in Tenerife again and plan to next year. We’ll book it and take the indignity because we have no choice if we want to travel and see the world and take a break from our hectic work schedules, just like everyone else.
Mel Griffiths – 17 May 2022
Horrendous ordeal, have you spoken to anyone in the blind community who may have some answers or have had similar issues and how they resolved them, I hope you can get advice and this is helpfull
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