WRC orders airline to pay €7,500 over denied emergency-exit seat

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered an airline to pay €7,500 to an anonymised passenger after finding that refusing him an emergency-exit seat constituted discrimination under the Equal Status Act and harassment. The passenger had wanted the seat to accommodate a sleep apnoea device.

WRC adjudication officer Pat Brady said the regulations did not impose a blanket ban on seating a special-category passenger in an emergency-exit row unless the person’s disability or lack of mobility posed a reasonable impediment to safe evacuation. The WRC also ordered the airline to establish procedures to assess travellers’ capacity and mobility before declining bookings. It rejected a separate victimisation claim.

The proceedings were reported on 13 June 2025.