A wheelchair user with an amputated leg was left feeling “as insignificant as anyone could possibly feel” when he was left waiting on a plane after landing at Manchester airport last month.
Actor David Judd says an “embarassed” Jet2 pilot had to come to his rescue to assist him off the aircraft once it became clear no special assistance staff were on hand.
Mr Judd, from Wakefield, had flown in from Almeria, Spain with his wife Amanda on 18 June when he was stranded on the aircraft as the other passengers departed.
The 54-year-old - who had his lower leg amputated after an accident in 2019 - says he has booked special assistance at Manchester Airport multiple times before with no problems.
However, on this occasion, around 30 minutes passed before Jet2 staff on the aircraft declared no assistance was on its way.
“The pilot came out and said there were no stewardesses left. Then radioed saying there was a guy still here. The other people who had special assistance – they could walk,” Mr Judd told Manchester Evening News.
“I had just come back so I couldn’t really put my leg on - so I really did need help.”
While the other special assistance passengers were able to disembark with some difficulty, it was clear airline staff would have to help Mr Judd off the plane.
“After 25-30 minutes, the pilot said he could push me on the ramp,” he says.
“They did get a wheelchair from under the plane, but there was no special assistance whatsoever.
“This was the pilot – the guy that flies a Boeing 737 – and he was pushing me in a wheelchair. I thought, ‘My God, how wrong is this?’
“He was so embarrassed; you could see it. You could really see it.”
To make matters worse, he was then injured on the airport shuttle bus to the terminal.
“We got the bus back to the car park and I stood up trying to put my suitcases in, and the driver put her foot down. I fell back and hit my head and arm on the window.”
The negative experience has put Mr Judd off flying for the time being, and left him feeling “angry all the time”.
“You could say it made me feel as insignificant as anyone could possibly feel,” he says.
“We’re meant to be going away in September for an anniversary but I don’t really want to go. I really don’t want that feeling again.
“It’s been five weeks and I’ve been angry all that time. But I can’t be angry because this wasn’t my doing – and this wasn’t my fault – but it makes you feel like it’s your fault you have your leg cut off.”
Mr Judd says he had also had a negative experience on arriving at Manchester Airport to leave for the same Spanish holiday.
After checking in, he says: “I took my prosthetic leg off an hour before the flight and put a compression sock on to stop the swelling. When we got [to the airport], we had to wait, which is very unusual as normally you’re assisted immediately.
“We were there for around 35 to 40 minutes just waiting for someone to come and help us. A staff member turned up and took our suitcases from us and took it to a long queue.
“When we got to the security area, he left. The guy at security wanted me to walk through the magnetic thing and said, ‘Can’t you just put your leg on?’.
“He could see I was in a wheelchair. My wife was left to carry all the bags and my leg which is about 8lbs.”
He complained to the airport immediately after the incident, as well as letting Jet2 and the Civil Aviation Authority know about it.
“Manchester Airport did finally get in touch after I set the ball rolling with the media. I have to say it was just a generic apology and to be honest it was as cold as ice, just blaming Covid at every opportunity,” Mr Judd told The Independent.
“[With] Jet2, I told them about our horrible experience and they never responded. It makes you never want to travel via an airport again.”
A Manchester Airport spokesman told MEN: “We were disappointed to hear of this passenger’s experience when travelling through our airport.
“Like airports across the UK, Manchester contracts a third-party company to provide assistance, which is booked directly by the passenger with their airline.
“We take assistance requirements very seriously and, prior to the pandemic, were rated ‘good’ in the Civil Aviation Authority’s most recent Airport Accessibility report.
“We remain confident that most people with assistance needs travelling through our airport will have a positive experience, but we recognise that this was not the case here. We will continue to work closely with all involved to ensure passengers requiring assistance receive the best service possible, and to understand how a repeat of this case will be avoided.”
Meanwhile a spokesperson for ABM Aviation, which provides special assistance services at Manchester Airport, said: “We understand the importance of the special assistance service we provide to passengers. We always aim to deliver that service with efficiency, respect, and care and regret when passengers experience anything short of these standards.
“Learning from these moments, we are actively working with our teams, clients and partners to implement efforts to minimise the impact on passengers as we navigate this phase of the pandemic recovery.
“Special assistance providers are one part of a larger network of airport services that continues to face challenges, including a national labour and resource shortage. In addition, our teams are currently experiencing higher volumes of special assistance requests than our busiest pre-pandemic peak.”
The Independent has approached Jet2 for comment.
