I did something completely normal on a TUI flight and was banned

2023-06-29

I did something completely normal on a TUI flight and was reprimanded like a child – and banned from my return flight

An autistic woman said she was banned from her return flight from Jamaica
She claims she was ‘disrespected’ by crew members after using the wrong toilet
Victoria Devorie was left to fork out thousands as she was stranded at the airport

A woman was forced to spend thousands of pounds to fly home from her holiday in Jamaica after she claims she was ‘banned’ from her TUI flight.

Victoria Devorie, who lives in Crosby, said she was treated like a ‘child’ whilst travelling from Gatwick Airport to Montego Bay, Jamaica on Thursday, June 8.

The drama began when the 44-year-old, who has autism, needed the toilet a few hours in to the flight.

Ms Devorie said she decided to use the one nearest to the gallery of the plane because another passenger had been in the toilets for a long time.

Victoria Devorie (pictured above) said she was banned from a TUI return flight and had to spend £2500 to get home after being told she was a ‘flight risk’

Before taking off, an announcement had been made by the crew to say the galley was a working kitchen and not to cross it.

While Victoria was waiting for the toilet, she says she crossed the gallery slightly to let another person past. She claims one of the air stewards then spoke to her in a ‘disrespectful manner.’

Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO, she said: ‘I went up the other side of the plane and was waiting to use the toilet and I moved out of the way for another passenger, and I can remember it verbatim, I stepped a foot into the galley and this crew member reprimanded me like a child.

‘When you have autism, certain situations can trigger you. You can go into fight, flight or freeze. Initially I froze and I apologised to him and I said ‘I am really sorry, I know the rules, I am just getting out the way of a passenger. You don’t need to talk to me in the way you are talking to me. You’re being really combative.’

Ms Devorie said she was very upset and, because she had been left confused by what happened, she accidentally exited the wrong way and claims she was then ‘yelled at’ by the flight attendant.

She said: ‘I did move forward and I said ‘can I take your name?’ and initially he would not give me his name and I moved forward and he said ‘you’re still in the galley’ and I said ‘I want your name’. And I said ‘this is not OK for you to talk to me like that’.

‘I was trying to make him understand I wasn’t doing it on purpose and I said I was sorry. I said ‘I work in service’ and he said ‘oh right so what, if somebody stepped into your kitchen you wouldn’t be annoyed?’

‘I said to him ‘if it was an accident I’d ask them to leave and I would understand it’. I told him he was talking to me in a really misogynistic way and it was not acceptable.

TUI have said they were not aware of Victoria’s disability and that she had not informed them before boarding the flight

‘The air steward who had been serving us put his arm on my arm and said ‘go and sit down’. So I exited the other way and he screamed at me and said ‘you’re still doing it’ [going into the galley] because I just got really discombobulated.

‘So yes, I exited the other way rather than going back across and all the way round. And then I just got really upset.’ She added: ‘The situation left me feeling incredibly upset and triggered, especially considering that TUI was aware of my autism before the flight.’

Victoria claims throughout her communication with the airline, and when she booked her holiday, she made them aware she was autistic.

A spokesperson for TUI told the ECHO Ms Devorie did not discuss the fact she had autism with the TUI customer service team at any point during the booking process or prior to departure.

The spokesperson added: ‘We have a team on hand to work with customers who may require additional support during their holiday.’

After arriving at a hotel, Victoria claims there were a number of issues which she logged with TUI and was compensated £250.

But things got worse for Victoria when she tried to check-in 48 hours before her flight home and couldn’t. She rang TUI who she claims told her everything was fine.

However, when she arrived at the airport for her flight home on Thursday, June 22 she was given a letter, seen by the ECHO, telling her she was being refused from her TUI flight and was unable to get on another home with the airline.

She said: ‘They then issued me with a letter telling them I was a flight risk, banned from the flight and they cited on the second page I was drunk, arguing with crew and passing through the galley. I looked at them like ‘what am I supposed to do?’

A TUI spokesperson said they were sorry to hear about Victoria Devorie’s flight experience but prioritize the safety of their crew members above all

Victoria was left to face a £2,500 bill for a last-minute Virgin flight to Heathrow. Her partner had to board the original TUI flight as there were no others for him to get on.

Victoria added: ‘I literally sat in the airport, continuously on the phone to my mum. My phone died and I didn’t have the right USB cable, so I couldn’t charge my phone.

‘So I began to have a meltdown. I sat where my partner had left me, I sat there for nine hours. I didn’t even go to the toilet, I didn’t even have a drink of water.

I did something completely normal on a TUI flight and was banned

I did something completely normal on a TUI flight and was reprimanded like a child – and banned from my return flight

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