Wheelchair user forced to drag himself off Air Canada flight after lack of help
A man in a wheelchair claims he had to drag himself off a plane when he wasn't offered assistance by an airline.
Canadian officials have launched a probe into Air Canada following an incident involving Rodney and Deanna Hodgins during a flight from Vancouver to Las Vegas in August. The woman argued that the airline had failed her husband "in every sense".
Rodney, who has spastic cerebral palsy and uses a motorised wheelchair, was not offered any help by Air Canada crew to get off the plane, Deanna alleged. The airline usually provides an aisle seat to passengers with limited mobility, so they can easily exit once all other passengers have left, with assistance from staff.
Denna claimed that her husband was no offered such help. "They made it very clear that they wanted us to get off the plane because they had to turn it around. We thought it was a joke at first, but after we were flabbergasted," the Canadian woman told the BBC.
She alleges that members of cleaning staff, crew and the captains watched on as she tried to help her husband exit the aircraft.
Woman claims flight attendant refused to let her store her wheelchair on plane
A spokesperson for Air Canada said the incident was being investigated (Getty Images)The couple say they have subsequently received an apology from the airline which "is great and we do appreciate". However they added: "Rodney really wants change, so it's not over for him, and it's certainly not over for us. We just want to make sure that this really never happens again."
An Air Canada spokesperson told CBC: "Following our investigation into how this serious service lapse occurred, we will be evaluating other Mobility Assistance service partners in Las Vegas," the airline said. The Mirror has contacted the airline for further comment.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has said it is investigating the incident. The organisation has stated that airlines are required to assist passengers with limited mobility, including when they are boarding or getting off an aircraft.
In recent months the challenge faced by wheelchair users on flights has been highlighted by a number of high profile incidents.
Last summer journalist and wheelchair user Frank Gardner, 60, expressed outrage when he was left on the plane of the busy West Sussex airport when he flew there with Iberia Express. He wrote on social media: "FFS not again! Just back from exhausting week covering Nato summit in Madrid and quelle surprise, I'm still stuck on the plane at Gatwick. Iberia crew are gone and a new crew has come onboard. Just WHY are UK airports so consistently cr*p at getting disabled people off planes?"
Earlier this year Loose Woman star Sophie Morgan, who has been a user of a wheelchair since she was 18-years-old after being involved in a car accident that left her paralysed from the chest down, said part of her wheelchair had been damaged during a British Airways flight.
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
