On a flight from Warsaw to London on Monday I needed to crawl on the ground of the aircraft to achieve the bathroom.
I’ve been paralyzed since I used to be shot by Al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia 20 years in the past.
My expertise in flight was bodily very uncomfortable and, in fact, fairly humiliating.
I do know that the inconvenience I and different disabled vacationers face is dwarfed by the horrors skilled by folks in battle zones world wide, the tales I cowl – so my very own expertise. Is comparatively small.
In this occasion it was humiliating to be wandering round on the aircraft flooring in my go well with in entrance of different passengers.
Polish Airlines LOT, which flies out and in of Heathrow, mentioned it was not its coverage to have aisle chairs on board.
This is unacceptable for passengers with disabilities, as these units are smaller than a carriage, and will be simply folded to slot in a cabinet or overhead locker.
British Airways, easyJet, and each different airline I've flown with just lately all have them on board as customary.
It shouldn't be exhausting to repair for my part. This 'coverage' is unquestionably flawed – it must be modified instantly.
This is 2024, not 1970, and I discover it extraordinary that an airline is allowed to fly out and in of British airports with a coverage that successfully says 'If you may't stroll, you may Can't go to the bathroom on our planes'.
In a press release to the BBC, Polish Airlines LOT mentioned it was “deeply sorry for the harrowing experience”, and that it “sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience caused by the lack of wheelchairs onboard”.
It mentioned it doesn’t have onboard wheelchairs on its short-haul flights resulting from “limited space”, however that the airline understands the “importance of accessibility” and is “active in equipping our short-haul aircraft with wheelchairs onboard.” Is being examined formally.” Future”.
I'm afraid I received't settle for this as a result of I flew with the airline from Tallin to London in May and the identical factor occurred there. In truth, its floor workers had been truly fairly adamant and rejected the concept that the plane ought to have this characteristic.
However, the Polish cabin workers on the Monday flight had been incredible.
They had been embarrassed, apologetic, and as useful as doable. They inspired me to complain about this as a result of they might see how flawed it was.
I had an identical expertise on Kenya Airways 12 years in the past. After elevating this publicly the airline did an exquisite job of rectifying the issue, and I had some pretty letters from journey corporations telling me how grateful they had been that their disabled prospects now felt comfy flying with that airline. Feel.
I'm stunned to choose it up once more. The UK has rightly made an enormous deal about incapacity rights. Television presenter and campaigner Sophie Morgan is doing a incredible job of elevating consciousness on this space, even assembly with President Biden to debate it.
But it’s shameful that disabled passengers flying by British airports are nonetheless discriminated towards on this method.
With inputs from BBC
