THE Former state deputy Célia Leão, who is currently Secretary of Social Development and Valinhos Housing, São Paulo interior, was taken from a Gol airline flight on Thursday (1st) . The reason alleged by the company was the use of an orthopedic cushion, considered by the crew as “unauthorized for use on board, and may be a risk to the safety of the passenger.” Célia Leão, who has been a wheelchair for 50 years, described the incident as “a barbarity.”
The case occurred on Flight G3 7665, which would depart from Guarulhos International Airport (SP) to Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to Celia, the use of the cushion is essential so that it does not feel pain when sitting, due to the lack of muscles in the buttock region.
In his account, Celia Leão criticized the posture of the crew and the aircraft commander. She said she tried to explain the need for the cushion, but her arguments “were true arguments, she served to have a sensitivity to find an alternative.” She reported that the commissioner made “almost a scandal” as she saw her put the pillow, even after her explanation that “this pillow is my butt. I can’t sit in a hard place.”
The former deputy also criticized the lack of direct communication with the commander. She claimed that she tried to explain the situation to him, but he refused to talk to her personally. Celia Leão considered the attitude “unacceptable,” because, in his view, the commander has an obligation to serve a passenger. She compared the situation to the need for a father or elderly to be met by the commander. For her, the commander should not “close at her booth and send a message by an onboard commissioner who had already questioned me.”
No problem before
Célia Leão pointed out that she traveled to Buenos Aires with the same pillow days earlier on a goal flight without any problem. She said that in the 40 years she travels around Brazil and abroad with various airlines, including Gol, a medical certificate or report has never been asked.
At first, Gol, in a statement, alleged the prior absence of a Medif form to justify the initial negative of boarding. However, Celia Leão accuses the company “problematizing a pillow” as if it were a safety risk. She stressed that the pillow is a respected brand and that the goal acted “conveniently” by ignoring that it took her to Argentina without problems.
Celia Leão has classified the episode as something “unusual in my life and I think in the life of aviation.” She stressed the importance of “we can’t shut up” and thanked the media for taking the story forward. For her, “when a right is not respected for a person, he is not respected for the whole society either.” She concluded that the situation was created by people who “ignore the legislation, ignored sensitivity, ignored respect.”
Results
The situation resulted in a flight delay, with all passengers having to land from the aircraft by order of the company. Celia Leão felt “embarrassed, I felt poorly attended” and bothered by the delay of 40 minutes caused to other passengers.
After the forced landing, the former deputy reported that she had to leave the armchair, go to the wheelchair, remove the pillow, and her bags were removed from the plane. Her daughter, who would travel on the same flight to work, went on, but her suitcase was also removed with those of Celia, and Gol “refused” to return her immediately. Celia Leo reiterated that “it was all wrong, all wrong.”
The company regretted the inconvenience and said it had assisted. The company said that, after a new assessment of the case with the sending of the Medif and medical release, the boarding of Celia Leão was authorized for the next day “with all the safe and adequate conditions.”
The former deputy said that the goal “did not even apologize”, but that, by this time, no longer wants them, because the time for this has passed, since the incident began on the 1st and she spent the whole day at the airport and part of day 2. She considered the score “malicious” and that the company “were not worthy of taking the error.”
After the incident, Célia Leão filed an urgent request for the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJSP) on Saturday (3) . They asked the goal to be required to relocate them at no cost on the next flight to Sao Paulo, ensuring accessibility, comfort and safety, as well as the cost and food cost. However, the court denied the request, with the judge noting that the request did not fit the hypotheses provided for the judicial duty and that the previous decision should be appealed, not review in the duty.
This content was originally published in “It was a barbarity,” says a former flight withdrawal for the use of a pillow on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
