The Complainant claimed that he was discriminated against on the disability ground in relation to a service provided by the Respondent. The Respondent refused to allow the Complainant to fly business class to Washington in January 2019. The Complainant is claiming that the Respondent failed to provide him with reasonable accommodation pursuant to the Equal Status Act 2000. The Complainant suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a special harness when flying because he cannot sit upright independently in an aircraft seat without support.

On the 18th of January 2019, the Complainant said his wife received a telephone call and an email advising him that he could not travel in business class and that he would be required to sit in the back row of the plane in a non-reclining seat. She was told that the airline did not allow the use of the special harness in business class. The Complainant pointed out to the airline that he had already travelled in business class on three other occasions using the harness and he was informed by the Respondent that the policy had changed, and he could no longer use the harness in business class. The Complainant stated that it was a very difficult journey, he was very uncomfortable as he was sitting in the same position for the duration of the long-haul flight.

The Respondent denied that the Complainant was discriminated against on the disability ground. The Respondent submitted that the refusal to allow the Complainant to travel in business class was simply because the safety of the Complainant was paramount.

The Adjudication Officer noted that given the fact that in January 2019, the Complainant had completed a further 4 flights in business class with the harness with no issues raised by the cabin crew regarding safety or any other concerns about the harness, it was incumbent on the Respondent to take these facts into consideration before refusing him permission to fly in a business class seat. There was no evidence presented to support the Respondent’s contention that the Complainant was likely to cause harm to himself or others if he was allowed to travel in business class wearing the harness. Therefore, the Adjudication Officer was satisfied that the Respondent failed to do all that was reasonable to provide accommodation for the Complainant in business class. The Respondent was ordered to pay to the Complainant the sum of €10,000 (ten thousand euro) compensation.

While this is not an employment case it is nonetheless a cautionary reminder to employers of their duty to make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees – particularly in situations where there has been a change in technology which will impact on disabled employees more. 
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2020/june/adj-00021710.html