Air France received the rather unenviable distinction from the editors of Emerging Horizons, for the unwillingness of one of its senior captains to allow a prominent, disabled passenger to board a flight. Michelle Daly, an advisor working for the French government, had a ticket to fly from Paris to London-Heathrow in order to serve as a participant at a conference on disabilities. Daly's plans, however, were nixed, when the captain came out of the cockpit and cast doubt on whether the government advisor had the ability to walk. Daly pointed out that she could not, in fact, walk on her own, and shortly after hearing this, the captain asked her to leave the plane, noting that the advisor posed a "safety and health risk to everyone on the plane."
Air France publicly stood by its captain and argued that it was not safe for Daly to fly, because the aircraft in question was not equipped to handle passengers with disabilities.
