Sick Businessman Lodges Physical Abuse Complaint Against Ryanair

Rome man suffers from myeloma. Police intervened. “They broke my shoulder”. Civil aviation authority inquiry. Ryanair says company policy was adhered to

MILAN – A man suffering from multiple myeloma claims he was physically abused, and his shoulder broken, on Monday’s Ryanair flight FR9186 from Girona to Rome. The low-cost operator counters that he failed to comply with the instructions given by the crew for his own safety.

GUARANTEED ASSISTANCE – But let’s start at the beginning. Rome-based businessman Angelo Pietrolucci, 57, suffers from multiple myeloma, a painful tumour that progressively weakens the bones until they fracture. He had asked Ryanair for assistance with boarding. “The flight was an hour late and the assistant left me in the waiting area. In the meantime, boarding had started and when the assistant turned up to accompany me on board, the other passengers had been on the plane for a quarter of an hour The front rows were occupied so I sat in row three. But they told me I had to move to the second-last row, number thirty-two”. Angelo Pietrolucci, who was travelling with his wife and grandson, says that he went to row thirty-two very slowly because of his physical condition. And he was complaining. “They might have taken me to the rear entrance. After all, thirty-two is one row from the back”.

A ROW ISSUE – Ryanair maintains that any delay in assistance is not the point at issue. Quite the reverse. The company insists that row thirty-two was the right choice. “Angelo Pietrolucci booked assistance for reduced-mobility passengers, who are assigned seats near the exits”, explained Stephen McNamara, Ryanair’s communications officer in reply to Corriere.it’s email. Despite what Mr Pietrolucci claims, the first rows are not the ones that ensure the safety of passengers requiring assistance, says the airline.

PERSONA NON GRATA – Mr Pietrolucci says that he went to the seat indicated. “When I got to row thirty-two, I was asked to disembark. They said I was a ‘persona non grata’. I asked the cabin crew what the reason was and they said they didn’t know. ‘The aircraft is the captain’s territory and he gives the orders’. They also told me that if I refused to disembark, they would call the police, and the police duly arrived. Three officers told me to leave the plane. If I refused, they were going to handcuff me. And they showed me their handcuffs as they said it. When I ‘passively resisted’, one officer yanked my arm, just where I was operated recently. On landing in Rome, I went to accident and emergency, where they diagnosed a fractured humerus”.

THE AIRLINE – The airline maintains that Mr Pietrolucci and his party refused to sit in the seats assigned when asked to do so by the crew. They were warned that the airport police would be called in should they refuse to comply with the safety instructions. They did refuse, says Ryanair, and the Spanish police was invited onto the aircraft to make the group leave the aircraft. We asked Ryanair what actually happened. Mr McNamara replied that the three assured the police officers that they would comply with the crew’s safety instructions and on that basis, the police allowed them to travel. Mr McNamara said there were no further problems during the two hour fifteen minute flight and none of the passengers complained of pain or discomfort. With regard to the alleged physical abuse and fracture, Mr McNamara said that at no time were Ryanair cabin personnel made aware of, nor did they note, any discomfort on the part of this passenger as a result of the altercation with the Spanish police. He denied any physical contact between the three passengers and cabin crew, adding that Ryanair instructs staff to call the airport police to deal with passengers who become offensive or refuse to follow safety instructions. Mr McNamara said the policy was applied in this case. It was only when the aircraft landed at Rome Ciampino that the passenger requested medical attention, which Ryanair staff requested from the airport. Mr McNamara concluded by expressing Ryanair’s regret that the issue with the group had caused a two-hour delay for the 150 passengers on the plane.

WITNESSES – Angelo Pietrolucci’s response was vehement: “The passengers protested and shouted at the police to leave me alone. Many of them gave me their names and details so they could back up my version”, says Mr Pietrolucci, who is currently being treated with stem cells under the distinguished Professor Franco Mandelli. “It’s not just the broken shoulder. It’s the consequences”.

ENAC INQUIRY – In the meantime, the civil aviation authority, ENAC, has set up an inquiry. ENAC’s president, Vito Riggio, has asked the director general, Alessio Quaranta, to take appropriate action to establish precisely what happened on the aircraft to the seriously ill passenger Angelo Pietrolucci, announced ENAC in a communiqué, which adds that ENAC is keen to see the results of the inquiry as soon as possible.

English translation by Giles Watson

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