The BBC’s security correspondent, Frank Gardner, has described how he was forced to crawl on the floor of a plane in order to reach the toilet on a flight from Warsaw to London.
Writing on the BBC website, Gardner, whose legs were paralysed when he was shot six times by al-Qaida sympathisers in Saudi Arabia in 2004, said the experience on the LOT Polish Airlines flight was “physically deeply uncomfortable and also, of course, quite degrading”.
“In this instance it was humiliating to have to shuffle along the floor of an aircraft in front of other passengers in my suit,” Gardner said.
“Polish Airlines LOT, which flies in and out of Heathrow, said it was not their policy to have onboard aisle chairs. This is unacceptable for disabled passengers, since these devices are smaller than a pram and can easily fold up to fit into a cupboard or an overhead locker.”
Gardner said British Airways, easyJet and every other airline he had flown with recently all had the aisle chairs onboard.
“This is 2024, not 1970, and I find it extraordinary that an airline is allowed to fly in and out of British airports with a policy that effectively says ‘if you can’t walk, you can’t go to the toilet on our planes’,” he added.
LOT Polish Airlines told the Guardian: “We are deeply sorry for the distressing experience Mr Frank Gardner encountered on his recent flight with us. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by the lack of an onboard wheelchair.
“Currently, onboard wheelchairs are available on our Dreamliner aircraft. However, due to limited space, our short-haul fleet does not yet have this facility. We understand the importance of accessibility and are actively testing solutions to equip our short-haul aircraft with onboard wheelchairs in the near future.”
It continued: “As mentioned on our website, for long-haul flights we provide onboard wheelchairs to assist passengers in moving around the cabin. Additionally, our ground staff is always ready to assist passengers from check-in to boarding and from the aircraft to the baggage claim area.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience Mr Gardner experienced and sincerely apologise for the distress caused. We are committed to improving our services to ensure all passengers have a comfortable and dignified travel experience.”
Gardner said the Polish cabin staff on the flight were “fantastic” and “as helpful as they could be”.
In 2017, Gardner was left on an easyJet flight when it landed at Gatwick airport. He was stranded again in 2022 after he had flown back to the UK with Iberia Express.
