EasyJet prevents Paralympic athlete's guide dog from boarding

Romain Rouillard 18:00 pm, March 29, 2023

Timothée Adolphe, a prominent member of the Paralympic track and field France team, certainly did not imagine the scenario that stood in front of him. The 400m world champion and Olympic 100m runner-up in Tokyo in 2021 was to board an EasyJet flight to Toulouse from the capital, as part of an operation with his sponsor, reports Le Figaro. But at the last moment, the blind athlete had to revise his plans, the British low-cost airline did not allow his guide dog to board with him.

>>

READ ALSO – "You can be an athlete and disabled": in Paris, a whole day dedicated to disabled sport

However, French law makes it mandatory to take care in this type of situation. "Guide dogs and other assistance dogs are allowed to travel free of charge with their handler in the aircraft cabin. They must be in possession of an animal passport (indicating vaccinations against rabies and other medical treatments) and an identity card," a European provision also states. What the company obviously ignored. "My sponsor contacted their services for explanations and they were told that EasyJet was an English company and that as such it did not have to respect French laws," Timothée Adolphe told Le Figaro.

EasyJet ensures guide dogs for the blind are allowed on board

By way of justification, the company also claimed that the animal, named Jappeloup, had not been trained in an internationally recognized school. "This is totally false. The school of Guide Dogs for the Blind of the West where he was trained is federated at the national and international level, "plagues the interested party. For its part, EasyJet expressed its astonishment to our colleagues in Le Figaro. "An internal investigation is underway to understand what happened in customer service as we accept guide dogs as clearly stated on our website. EasyJet transports hundreds of guide dogs every year."

>>

READ ALSO – Paralympic Games: a surprising partnership between the National Agency of Sport and... Airbus

The 33-year-old athlete, who says he is "disappointed and angry", has not been able to get further explanations from the company. "I told them that I was going to record the conversation and eventually use it later. The person put down the handset and did not want to communicate," he said. Timothée Adolphe was still able to reach the pink city aboard an Air France plane. An adventure without consequence, therefore, but which leaves a bitter taste to the sprinter. "It's 2023, having to fight to simply enforce basic laws is abnormal. I fell from the clouds," he admitted.