DFDS has apologised to a wheelchair user who was unable to access a lift during a recent crossing to the UK and had to stay on the car deck in their van.
The ferry operator’s route director for Jersey, Chris Parker, said that the Danish firm had sought to review the incident “to ensure it doesn’t happen again”.
He made the comments after James Thompson – a member of equality and diversity charity Liberate’s governing board – raised concerns following his recent journey from Jersey to Poole.
Mr Thompson, who is paralysed from the shoulders down, told the JEP he had notified DFDS in advance of his sailing regarding his need to use the lift from the car deck to the passenger deck.
He also noted that, when checking in, he was given an orange sticker marked ”lift’ to hang in his van [pictured].
But Mr Thompson said he was informed while boarding that the lift was already “closed up and blocked off” and that he “should have been in a different loading area to get on earlier”.
He subsequently stayed in his van on the car deck.
“I won’t blame individuals, people make mistakes,” Mr Thompson said.
“It’s down to operators and companies to have the right procedures in place so events like this can’t be happen.
“It was far too easy to end up in today’s situation.”
In a statement, Mr Parker said: “We’re aware of the difficulties one of our passengers experienced while travelling with us on Friday.
“It’s clear that our procedures were not followed correctly on this occasion, and we fell short of the standards we expect of ourselves.”
Mr Parker continued: “We’re urgently reviewing the incident to understand what went wrong and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“DFDS remains fully committed to providing safe and inclusive travel for all, and we’ll be reaching out to the passenger directly to ensure his concerns are properly addressed.”
In an update, Mr Thompson said that he had received a direct reply from DFDS, in which the operator apologised and told him improvements had been implemented.
