A wheelchair-dependent passenger experienced bad things on a flight with an Australian airline: the woman was not given a suitable wheelchair for the plane and had to crawl through the aisle to get off. The airline apologized, but denied an allegation.
People with limited mobility, who may even be dependent on a wheelchair, have a much more difficult time traveling than others. Lost or damaged wheelchairs, boarding problems, undersized toilets – there are numerous problems that have not yet been addressed.
A passenger on Australia’s Jetstar airline recently experienced something even worse. When she got off the plane, she was forced to crawl down the aisle because there wasn’t a specially designed wheelchair, she shared on social media.
Normal wheelchairs do not fit in the aircraft cabin. Therefore, airlines have to provide the special devices. “After landing in Bangkok, the flight attendant wanted me to pay to use an aisle wheelchair,” the traveler said. She refused because she had never had to do that before. So she had to crawl to the exit and her wheelchair.
“I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life,” said the woman, who was traveling with a friend. They couldn’t help her because of a knee injury. She did not accept help from the crew because the risk of injury was too high, the woman said on the Sunrise TV show.
According to the Business Insider portal, the airline apologizes for the incident. However, she clearly rejects the accusation that they asked for payment for the wheelchair. It was a communication problem.
Upon arrival at the gate, there was no aisle wheelchair available, the airline said. The incident is being investigated. “At no time was an aisle wheelchair held back due to a request for payment,” continued Jetstar. “Our client team reached out to Ms. Curtis to better understand her experience and to offer her a refund as well as additional compensation.”
This article was written by Laura Frommberg
*The contribution “No wheelchair available – passenger has to crawl through aisle” is published by aeroTelegraph. Contact the person responsible here.
