A blind woman had to miss her flight home to Northern Ireland because easyJet, the budget airline, would not let her on a domestic flight with her guide dog, it has been reported.
Joanne Jones said that she was "totally frustrated and flabbergasted" that check-in staff at Gatwick would not let her guide dog on without a dog passport on Sunday, even though she was only flying to Belfast.
She said that the airline knew in advance that she would be travelling with her Poodle-Labrador cross guide dog, Orla, because she had called 10 days ahead.
When she arrived at Gatwick, she was asked for paperwork to prove Orla was a guide dog, but in the 12 years Jones has been travelling to Northern Ireland she has never been asked for such proof.
Jones pointed out that she was obviously blind and Orla was wearing an official guide dog harness and medallion with the guide dog logo, the guide dog name and the number embossed on it.
EasyJet said they had enough proof by the time she had verified the dog's collar number with the Guide Dog Association, but by then Jones had missed her flight.
An easyJet spokesman told the Daily Mail: "In line with CAA guidelines, easyJet's regulations make clear that documentation must be carried showing that they are a trained guide dog."
"EasyJet staff offered every assistance to Miss Jones and transferred her free of charge onto the first available easyJet flight."
Jones is still furious and is planning on taking further action. "I'm overwhelmed by the thousands of messages I've received on Twitter", Jones told the Belfast Telegraph.