TravelTalk: Jetstar to improve passenger services after blind passenger left stranded in airport lounge

Excerpt from the Travel Talk:

Emma Bennison, who is blind, is pleased Jetstar will improve its passenger services with a new help line after she was left stranded in a Melbourne Airport lounge after disembarking a Jetstar flight.

Emma made a disability discrimination complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission about her experience, where she was represented by the Justice and Equity Centre. The complaint has been resolved, with the airline committing to trial a new escalation process. Customers who are unable to locate or contact Jetstar airport staff at Australian domestic airports will be able to call a telephone help line when they need assistance.

In February 2024, Emma flew from her home in Hobart to Melbourne on a work trip. When she booked the flight with Jetstar, Emma had arranged for a Jetstar staff member to meet her at the gate in Melbourne and assist her through the airport. This ‘specific assistance’ is a disability access measure Jetstar provides.

When Emma arrived in Melbourne, Jetstar staff escorted her to a seating area and left her there.

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