Virgin Australia says it is investigating how and why a wheelchair-bound Kimberley teenager was dumped from one of its flights to Perth.
Sixteen-year-old Anthony, who has cerebral palsy, was due to travel from Broome to Perth for a medical appointment on July 22.
But when Anthony and his carer Heather Hansen arrived at Broome Airport, Virgin staff said they had not received notice of his special requirements and would not be able to assist with getting him on the aircraft.
Read the rest on ABC.
The domino effect when a disabled traveller has a bad experience is substantial. Everyone up and down the travel food chain is affected, from the airport to the airline to the traveler’s destination plans.
A recent example of the disabled community taking up arms is through a Change.org petition in which close to 200,000 have voiced concern over Britain’s Govia Thameslink Railway. The service reportedly told staff to refrain from helping people with disabilities in accessing their train if there is a possibility that offering assistance will make the service late.
There’s more at Consumer Affairs.
Recently invited to meet with EASA officials in Cologne to discuss the regulatory and certification considerations for allowing disabled passengers to remain in their wheelchairs in-flight, Flying Disabled founder and disability rights activist Chris Wood is optimistic that his campaign is gaining momentum.
Read more at Runway Girl Network
A Massachusetts family says JetBlue flight attendants discriminated against their disabled son on a flight out of T.F. Green, breaking the law in the process. They say the flight attendants didn’t allow him to use a special harness in the middle seat, which led to emotional and physical trauma.
Read the rest on ABC6.
Fiona MacKinnon, 54, claims she can no longer travel on a Loganair flight from Tiree to Glasgow for her regular cancer treatments. Fiona has dystonia, a neurological condition that severely restricts her mobility. She walks with the aid of crutches and uses a stairlift at home. This means she can’t climb the 12 steps to the Twin Otter Loganair plane at Tiree Airport.
The artist, who lives alone in Kirkapol, had previously used an S-Max stairclimber – a mechanised system that helps pull a wheelchair up a flight of stairs. But in February Fiona was told by Loganair that she could not use the device if she weighed more than the 120kg safety limit.
Read the rest on The Sunday Post.
