Qantas crew leave diabetic passenger stranded
A report in the Queensland Time says that diabetic Stephen Fennamore is demanding an apology from Qantas after a female flight attendant refused to allow him to board a plane at Sydney’s Mascot Airport.
Suffering from a low blood sugar attack as he handed over his boarding pass, Mr Fennamore said he was “wobbly” and leaning on his business partner, Bev Neumann, who was travelling with him.
Along with Ms Neumann’s teenage son, the pair was boarding flight 588 on Sunday night to return to Brisbane.
They had reached Sydney on another flight from Wagga Wagga.
Mr Fennamore said he drank two scotch and cokes before boarding the plane in Sydney to lift his blood sugar levels.
The flight attendant accused him of being drunk.
“She said: ‘You get off my plane’,” Mr Fennamore said.
“The airport police came.” “I requested they put the breathalyser on me to prove I wasn’t drunk.”
Despite his protests, he said the police sought no medical advice and escorted him out of the airport.
Mr Fennamore’s insulin was in the bags he had to check in for the flight.
He said he caught a taxi from the airport to Hornsby at a cost of $70, then hitch-hiked to Newcastle.
On Monday morning he boarded a Jetstar flight to Brisbane.
“I haven’t shaved. I’m still trembling,” he said yesterday.
“Duty of care is my main concern.”
“I just want Qantas to take notice of what happened.”
“They all need re-training in their first aid.”
A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline took the safety of its passengers very seriously.
“At times, passengers present in a condition which questions their fitness to travel,” she said.
“In such cases, Qantas’s policy of not allowing a passenger to board is designed to protect the safety of all passengers on board the aircraft.”
Qantas declined to comment on Mr Fennamore’s specific complaints.
“Should any customer contact Qantas directly with a complaint, it will be dealt with through the appropriate channels,” the spokeswoman said.
Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said Qantas’s behaviour was disgraceful.
“They clearly have a duty of care to their passengers,” he said.
“They should apologise to Mr Fennamore and reimburse him for the cost of Jetstar travel ($287) and his taxi fare.”
“I’m calling on them to consider compensation.”
A Report by The Mole from the Queensland Times
John Alwyn-Jones
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