EasyJet Refuses To Allow Professor To Board With Vital Organ Container Because It Was Not In A 100 Milliliter Bottle

EasyJet is known as an airline that reduces travel to just above a cattle car. However, the airline reaches a new low recently when it refused to allow professor Martin Birchall of Bristol University to board a plane with a medical container because it was larger than the 100 milliliter limit for a liquid. Birchall showed the airline that it contained a specially treated trachea needed within hours in Barcelona or the vital organ (and months of work) would be lost. While he insisted that he had previously consulted with the airline, they insisted that they had no record of the request and that he would have to leave the organ behind. That is when a medical student stepped forward and saved the day.

The trachea was a medical breakthrough — seeded with 60 million stem cells from the woman in Barcelona. It had to be implanted within 16 hours or all would be lost. EasyJet could not be bothered with such concerns. It was still over 100 milliliter. Maybe if he could stuff it into a coke bottle? Even though supervisors were fully informed of the problem, they refused to allow the package onboard. It would seem an easy thing once you inspect the item, confirm the credentials of the professor, and x-ray the item. You could even place it in the cockpit. You could act like a human being.

That is when medical student (and part-time superhero) Philipp Jungerbluth told Birchall that he had a pilot friend in Germany with a small jet and arranged with his friend to fly the container to Spain at cost ($21,000). Birchall paid on the spot and the woman’s trachea was saved.

Here is the part I love. Not only is EasyJet standing by its decision but it refused to reimburse Birchall for his 70 pound ticket.

Source: NPR