Man, they just took him off the plane and left him on the tarmac? Wonder what happened to his checked in baggage...
Airline lawsuit settled
By NORRIE ROSS
22jul03
A DISABLED man who was bundled off a Virgin Blue flight because staff thought he was drunk or a terrorist has settled a lawsuit against the airline.
Tony Kyriacou sued Virgin Blue after a Sydney-Melbourne flight turned into humiliation, witnessed by hundreds of passengers.
Mr Kyriacou said he was interrogated, stood over by armed guards, manhandled, threatened and left lying on the airport tarmac.
Despite his protests, he said he was held under armed guard for an hour, interrogated and missed his return flight to Melbourne.
Mr Kyriacou accepted an undisclosed out-of-court payment from Virgin Blue yesterday, just before his defamation lawsuit was to go before a Supreme Court jury.
He said he was pleased with the outcome.
Mr Kyriacou, 37, broke his neck when he was 17 and has incomplete quadriplegia, limited control of his arms and legs and drooping eyelids and facial features.
After his accident Mr Kyriacou was paralysed from the neck down but despite his injuries he gained a law degree and works as a corporate solicitor.
In his statement of claim, Mr Kyriacou, of Hampton, said an airline employee he identified as "Catherine" told him at the departure lounge at Sydney airport they believed he was medically unfit to travel. When he asked her why she replied: "Because of the way you are."
After an argument, Mr Kyriacou was allowed to board the flight but after he took his seat he was confronted by four Australian Protective Services guards who manhandled him through a back door.
Ambulance paramedics who examined Mr Kyriacou confirmed to Virgin Blue staff that his gait and demeanour were consistent with incomplete quadriplegia but he was not allowed to reboard the plane.
According to his claim, airline staff mistakenly believed he was intoxicated or some sort of religious fanatic or potential hijacker.
Mr Kyriacou claimed that the actions, gestures and words of the staff, in view of hundreds of witnesses, were defamatory and calculated to injure his reputation.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6788765^662,00.html
Airline lawsuit settled
By NORRIE ROSS
22jul03
A DISABLED man who was bundled off a Virgin Blue flight because staff thought he was drunk or a terrorist has settled a lawsuit against the airline.
Tony Kyriacou sued Virgin Blue after a Sydney-Melbourne flight turned into humiliation, witnessed by hundreds of passengers.
Mr Kyriacou said he was interrogated, stood over by armed guards, manhandled, threatened and left lying on the airport tarmac.
Despite his protests, he said he was held under armed guard for an hour, interrogated and missed his return flight to Melbourne.
Mr Kyriacou accepted an undisclosed out-of-court payment from Virgin Blue yesterday, just before his defamation lawsuit was to go before a Supreme Court jury.
He said he was pleased with the outcome.
Mr Kyriacou, 37, broke his neck when he was 17 and has incomplete quadriplegia, limited control of his arms and legs and drooping eyelids and facial features.
After his accident Mr Kyriacou was paralysed from the neck down but despite his injuries he gained a law degree and works as a corporate solicitor.
In his statement of claim, Mr Kyriacou, of Hampton, said an airline employee he identified as "Catherine" told him at the departure lounge at Sydney airport they believed he was medically unfit to travel. When he asked her why she replied: "Because of the way you are."
After an argument, Mr Kyriacou was allowed to board the flight but after he took his seat he was confronted by four Australian Protective Services guards who manhandled him through a back door.
Ambulance paramedics who examined Mr Kyriacou confirmed to Virgin Blue staff that his gait and demeanour were consistent with incomplete quadriplegia but he was not allowed to reboard the plane.
According to his claim, airline staff mistakenly believed he was intoxicated or some sort of religious fanatic or potential hijacker.
Mr Kyriacou claimed that the actions, gestures and words of the staff, in view of hundreds of witnesses, were defamatory and calculated to injure his reputation.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6788765^662,00.html