British war hero 'refused toilet visit' on Thomas Cook flight

Thomas Cook has offered an "unreserved apology" after British war hero Ben Parkinson MBE was refused assistance to visit the toilet during a flight home from Cyprus.

Lance Bombardier Ben, who lost both legs and broke his back, hips and ribs in a mine blast in Afghanistan in 2006, had gone on a holiday with five fellow servicemen with the charity Pilgrim Bandits.

After boarding their flight, Ben requested an aisle chair - a wheelchair that fits down the aisle of a plane - to go to the toilet.

The group were told there was no aisle chairs available on board, meaning none of the injured servicemen travelling could use the bathroom during the entire four-hour flight.

A member of the group mentioned the issue as they waited to exit the flight, and was reportedly told by one cabin crew member: "It's not my problem. Thank you for flying Thomas Cook."

According to the Doncaster Free Press, Ben's mum, Diane Dernie, told The Star he was particularly upset by the remark. She said: "Ben was really upset by that.

"He was just a very arrogant man. I don't know whether he'd had a bad day or what but he just wasn't interested in what we were telling him.

"The others were mostly really apologetic.

"Some of the crew even offered to give Ben a piggyback up the aisle which he thought was funny because they were so tiny."

She added: "It was worrying though, because if something had gone wrong, Ben wouldn't have been able to get up the aisle.

"Thomas Cook have since apologised and promised to ensure they can offer aisle chairs on all flights used by disabled people, which is all we wanted."

Under European Law, airlines are required to provide assistance in moving passengers to toilet facilities if required.

James Fremantle, Senior Consumer Policy Adviser at the UK Civil Aviation Authority told Reduced Mobility Rights: "Airlines either have to provide on-board wheelchairs or their staff have to assist passengers manually. The CAA does not see non-compliance with this provision as an option for airlines."

A spokesman for Thomas Cook told MailOnline: "We'd like to sincerely apologise to Mr Parkinson and his family and assure them that Thomas Cook Airlines takes its responsibilities to disabled customers very seriously - we immediately launched a full investigation into the issues raised by Mr Parkinson about his flight this weekend and we are contacting him as a matter of urgency.'

According to Reduced Mobility Rights,Pilgrim Bandits is now in touch with Thomas Cook to resolve the problem. A Pilgrim Bandits spokesman said: :We have received an unreserved apology from Thomas Cook and following a personal visit from the company's head of customer complaints, Pilgrim Bandits will now be working with Thomas Cook to ensure disabled facilities are provided on every aircraft."

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