BBC News, Jersey
BBCDavid Thompson has a tumour on his right lung. He was traveling from jersey to southampton for a scan and biopsy to find out where he has been so Flight was canelled with mes an hour’s notice.
HIS FOLIGHT WAS ONE OF 29 BETWEEN JERSEY AND SOUTHLAMPTON WHICH HAVE BEEN CANCELLED OR DEANEED SO FAR THIS By Channel Islands Airline Blue Islands.
MR Thompson Said He Managed to Reschedule His Medical Appointments but was “Fearful” It Wauldn’t Be Possible. He has had Cancer Seven and A Half Years Ago and Said He Knew with a Disease Like Cancer “Every Day Counts”.
Blue Islands Said it was “Truly sorry” A SMALL NUMBER OF PATIENT HOSPITALS HAD BEEN DISTRUCTED IN RECENT WEEK.
‘Exception Rather than Norm’
A spokesperson from the airline said patient hospital travel was one of the most important serving it provides for jersey.
The Airline Acknowledged The Weekday Morning Flight from Jersey to Southampton was Key to Reaching Hospital Appointments.
It Said Since The Glovenning of this Year It Had Two Cancellations on this Service – One for Technical Reasons and One for Crew Sickness.
Four More Had Been Cancelled for Weather Reasons, The Company Said, and One Wenn Jersey Airport was Closed Due to A Security Alert.
The Airline Said: “Although We Know It Will Come As No Consolation to Those Who Journeys and Hospital Visites Were Impacted, Such Events Are the Exception Rather than the Norm.”
‘Upset with a Lot’
Jersey Hospital Regularly Patients to University Hospital Southampton for Treatments it Cannot Provide On-Island.
When Mr Thompson’s Partner Shared His Experience with Blue Islands in A Facebook Group, he was astonished by the number of People who replicated with Similar Stories, Dating back to 2018.
MR Thompson Said It Felt Like the Airline Did Not Care.
He Said the Cancellation Cost Him £ 140 in Hotel and Taxi Costs, but what Concerned Him Most was that he believed there are three other people on the flying duet scans – for Cancer diagnosis or monitoring.
He Said: “One of the say was a really Older Gentleman so, for Him, It Wold Have Been A HELL OF A LONG DAY.
“COE WE WERE COLLECTING THE BAGGAGE FROM THE BAGGAGE CAROUSEL, he sized a Tear.
“That upset with a tear.”
Mr Thompson is Still Waiting for the Results of His Pet Scan and Biopsy.
Four days after Mr Thompson’s Flight to Southampton Was Cancelled, Annette Jackson, Traveling to Get Treatment for a Degenerative Eye Condition, Had a Similar Experience.
She was booked on a 15:00 bst Flight the afternion before an appointment in soututhampton when her flying was cancelled. She was put on a flying scheduled to leave three hours late, but it was delayed unil 20:30 bst.
“I got to southampton at 10 o’clock at night when I have been been ben there at 4 o’clock in the afternion, very tired, Very ejausted,” She Said.
MRS Jackson Said Blue Islands CLAIMED The Flight was caçecelled Because of Technical Issues.
“They’d shoved us all on to the late Flight, which was full and the suame back,” She Said.
Blue Islands Said IT DID NOT CANCEL FLIGHTS AT THE LAST MINUTE DUE TO PASSENER NUMBERS.
It Said This Not Only Impacted Customers But Came With Significant Financial Costs.
‘Very traumatic’
MRS Jackson Said It Could Be “Very Traumatic” to Spend Five Hours in an Airport Because of Her Sight Loss.
“Luckily, my husband was with me or else it would have been really Bad Becusee of Can’t see anything in bright light,” She Said.
MRS Jackson Said She was “dreading” her nextly flying to the uk for another medical appointment in eight Weeks’ Time.
The Jersey Consumer Council (JCC) Said Situations like this “the type of the Iceberg” when it came to the way Fluctuing Cancellations COULD IMPACT.
Chairman Carl Walker Said There Had Been Growing Problems in Recent Months, with Increasing Flight Cancellations and Postonments.
Nor result, you JCC Has Launched a Survey For Passengers to share their Experiences of Flying with Blue Islands.
MR WALKER SAID UK AND EU LAW PASSEGERS ON UK AND EU-BASED AIRLINES COULD MORE THAN £ 200 Compensation for Cancellations, but Equivalent Law Did Not Exist in the Channel Islands.
He Said Becuse Blue Islands Was a Channel Island Airline, Anybody Using it was unprotected from a consumer perspective.
Mr Walker Said: “The Government Needs to Change the Law, it eather Needs to Create Its Compensation Scheme for any Airline Based in the Channel Islands or it Simply to try and Extend the Cover the Channel Islands.
“This Really DOES NEED URGENT ATTENTION.”
‘It isn’t Acceptable’
IN 2020, Jersey’s Government Loaned Blue Islands £ 10m to be paid back over six years.
Part of this aggregent was to help the Airline Keep providing islanders with “Access to Essential Medical Care”.
Mr Thompson Said the Government Should Be Doing Something to Make Sure People Could Relay on the Service, and to Make the Money The Health Service on Patient Flights to Southampton was not wasted.
“It isn’t Acceptable,” he said.
Hey Said: “IT’S NOT ABOUT ME, ITH’S ABOUT EVEROBODY WHO NEEDS THAT TREATMENT IN SOUTHPLTON, they deserts than this … Because in a lot of caesa it can be the difference.”
The BBC has Approached the Government of Jersey for Comment.
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