Five Difficulties Wheelchair Users Face When Flying By Plane

From a man kicked off a Ryanair flight because his wheelchair wouldn’t fold to a chair being damaged in the hold, wheelchair users often struggle even to board a plane.

A disabled man and his mother were kicked off a Ryanair flight last week after staff “couldn’t fold his wheelchair”. Gary Dunne, who has mobility problems and is deaf, and 81-year-old Kathleen from the Wirral, Merseyside, were then rebooked on a second flight the next day – only to be asked to leave once again. Humiliatingly, the pilot then announced over the tannoy that the delay was due to “the lady with the wheelchair”. The airline say wheelchair services are provided by outside companies. But this sort of treatment is frustratingly common – here are five difficulties of flying when you’re disabled:

1. Being abandoned on the plane

Disabled passengers are expected to plan ahead and book wheelchair assistance but it often doesn’t come. Paralympian Anne Wafula Strike was stranded at Stansted last month after staff failed to meet her flight to take her off the plane, with the same thing happening to the BBC’s security correspondent, Frank Gardner, at Heathrow.

2. Not being able to travel in your wheelchair

Unlike trains or buses, it is still not possible for wheelchair users to stay in their wheelchairs onboard a plane. For those who are not able to sit comfortably in a plane chair, this makes flying impossible.

3. Wheelchairs being damaged

If you trust staff to put your vital wheelchair in the hold while flying, it may come out with pieces missing. In 2016, the disabled actor Athena Stevens launched a legal challenge against British Airways and London City airport over damage to her £25,000 chair. Britain’s equality watchdog says airlines should cover the full cost of damage they cause to mobility devices.

4. Banning wheelchairs

In 2010, easyJet came under fire for preventing thousands of disabled people from flying on its planes by refusing to allow most powered wheelchairs onboard. The budget airline blamed a weight restriction and “health and safety” rules.

5. Being left behind

Still, sometimes we are lucky if we are let on the plane at all. Last year, Niamh Herbert told the Guardian that she was asked by Ryanair staff to walk up the stairs to the plane “for easiness’ sake” (the airline said she changed her flight, and hadn’t informed them of her requirements when she did so). Since she couldn’t, she watched as the plane took off without her.

Source: The Guardian