Terrified widow, 92, slams Gatwick airport after being ‘locked in an adjoining room’

Jean Curran claims she felt abandoned by support staff after returning from her grandson’s wedding and described the ordeal as “the worst moment” of her life

Gatwick Airport has come under scrutiny after a 92-year-old woman was left “shaken, shocked and in tears” after being locked in an adjoining room while waiting for Special Assistance staff.

Jean Curran, who has mobility issues and walks with a cane, claims she climbed out of her wheelchair and crawled up a flight of stairs to desperately seek attention.

The widow’s family has demanded responses from the airport to catastrophic failures, the reports Email online.

Curran was on a flight back from Madrid on June 14 after traveling with her family to attend her grandson’s wedding. The rest of her family disembarked without issue, but she had to wait.

She was reportedly taken off the plane into a long, narrow room with glass doors at both ends, which could only be entered with a security pass.

Curran claims a man said someone would be coming to pick her up shortly, but she became concerned about the long wait when no one showed up.

“It was absolutely terrifying because I was just locked in this corridor with nowhere to go,” she said.

“I was very worried because I couldn’t hear any sound. I could see baggage handlers below so I started banging on the window calling for help to get their attention but they didn’t see me.”

Getting even more desperate, she spotted a set of stairs at one end of the corridor, so she got out of her wheelchair and started crawling up them to get help.

Curran’s son Martin began to worry about his mother’s whereabouts and stopped an employee in a special vehicle, imploring her to help him find her.

Her son described seeing her upset as a terrifying and very upsetting experience that should not have happened to a 92-year-old woman.

He claimed the incident could have had disastrous effects on her health if she had suffered a heart attack or fallen down the stairs she was climbing.

A Gatwick Airport spokesman reportedly said: “This sounds like a horrific experience for the passenger involved and we will continue to investigate what may have happened.

“However, at this time we can say that two passengers had pre-booked assistance for this flight and both disembarked as arranged by our assisted service provider, Wilson James.

“No passenger with the reported name had pre-booked assistance on this or any other flight that day. Nor was Wilson James informed by the crew that other passengers on that flight had requested assistance.

“No passenger should have to experience anything like this and we will continue to investigate this, including contacting the affected airline for more information.”

The Mirror has reached out to Gatwick Airport for comment.

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