A disabled man has said he had to “crawl along the floor” to use the toilet on a plane because the “discriminatory” airline did not allow wheelchairs on to its flights.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner posted on X a picture of his legs on the floor of an aircraft, which he said was “a flight back from Warsaw” operated by LOT Polish Airlines, on Monday.
In the accompanying message, he said he had “just had to crawl along the floor to get to the toilet as ‘we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy'”.
Calling it “discriminatory” to anyone unable to walk, he added in another post that it was the carrier’s fault, rather than that of the cabin crew, who were “as helpful and apologetic as they could be”.
“Won’t be flying LOT again until they join the 21st century,” he said.
Among the supportive responses, social media users called it “shocking”, “outrageous”, “appalling” and “unbelievable”, while one simply said: “Words fail”.
Several users questioned why airlines weren’t obliged to provide an onboard wheelchair and why cabin crew hadn’t carried the passenger to the toilet.
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One suggested Mr Gardner hire a lawyer and launch a discrimination case.
Others detailed their own bad experiences, including @accessstratford, who said it was why they stopped flying along with “my powered wheelchair being used as a luggage trolley.”
The airline said it was “deeply sorry” for what it called Mr Gardner’s “distressing experience” and the “inconvenience and discomfort caused by the lack of an onboard wheelchair.”
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In a statement, LOT said onboard wheelchairs are available on its Dreamliner planes, but not on its short-haul fleet because of “limited space”.
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It is testing solutions to equip short-haul aircraft with onboard wheelchairs “in the near future”.
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They are available on its long-haul flights, it said, and added that ground staff are “always ready to assist passengers from check-in to boarding and from the aircraft to the baggage claim area.”
The airline said it was “committed to improving our services to ensure all passengers have a comfortable and dignified travel experience.”
