Flight Centre sued by blind man over US website

Flight Centre sued by blind man over US website

Flight Centre has ended up in a legal stoush with a blind man in the US who claims the company’s website is inaccessible to people with visual impairments.

John Mahoney has filed a class action in a Pennsylvanian district court against the travel giant which alleged that himself and others living with visual impairments were entitled to relief in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Mahoney has alleged he is legally blind and cannot use a computer without the help of screen-reading software.

He claims Flight Centre’s US website, which operates as libertytravel.com, is incompatible with certain screen reader programs and he was “unable to understand, and thus was denied the benefit of much of the content and services he wishes to access or use”.

As a result, he has called for an injunction for the website to change its online content and services to be compatible with screen-reader technology.

Flight Centre’s defence said in a memorandum of law, which has been seen by Travel Weekly, that the company is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that its website is not a “place of public accommodation” and therefore does not have to comply with that clause of the ADA.

In this sense, according to the defence, a “place of public accommodation” includes physical locations like gyms, theatres and dry cleaners.

The memorandum also said Mahoney was a “tester”, meaning he had been qualified to visit places “of public accommodation” to determine their compliance with the ADA, and has filed “substantially identical lawsuits in Pennsylvania since August 2019”.

The lawsuit comes as Flight Centre continues to weather the storm of COVID-19 travel restrictions, most recently selling its Melbourne office to help stay afloat.

Latest News

  • Products

Embrace the journey: Traversing the world with the Shokz OpenRun

If you’ve been on the wrong side of a final call in the airport, or missed the stop on rail journey, it might be time to invest in a pair of Shokz OpenRun headphones. Originally marketed as headphones for fitness fanatics, runners or cyclists with a keen to steer clear of a prang with a car, […]

  • Tour Operators
  • Tourism

TTC: Deals are driving up demand for September trips

The latest market research from TTC Tour Brands shows interest in international leisure travel remains high for 2024, with 77 per cent of Australians over 18 still planning trips this year. Notably, 28 per cent of those travellers are eyeing September for their journeys. Europe continues to be the most popular destination, with 68 per […]

  • Aviation

Qantas ‘working urgently’ to fix app data leak

Qantas is looking into customer reports that passengers have this morning been able to access other passengers’ personal information on the airlines app. X user Lachlan posted that he was able log into different accounts every time he opened the app. My @Qantas app logs me in to a different person each time I open […]

  • Hotels

Revamped Wailoaloa Beach hotel opens as Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa

Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa is open and ready for bookings after the first phase of a multi-million-dollar transformation. Part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ premium collection, the transformation has seen the completion of 106 guestrooms showcasing contemporary interiors reflective of the premium Crowne Plaza brand and is a first for the […]

  • Luxury
  • News

Kamalaya Koh Samui clinches clutch of wellness awards

Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa has so far clinched five prestigious awards in 2024, including being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the World Spa & Wellness Awards in London. Founders of the Koh Samui sanctuary and spa John and Karina Stewart expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the awards. “We are profoundly honoured […]