Disability advocate Shane Hryhorec says he has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission after he was removed from a Virgin Australia flight over a disagreement about where to stow his wheelchair power-assist device.
The incident took place on a Sydney-to-Adelaide service after Hryhorec boarded with his SmartDrive, a battery-powered device that attaches to and assists his wheelchair and his service dog, Whitney.
In a video posted online, Hryhorec tells crew that there is not enough room at his feet because Whitney is beside him.
“I can’t fit my bag there. I’m not going to have a SmartDrive roll around and hit my dog,” he says.
A crew member responds: “That’s the rules.”
Hryhorec says he had flown with Virgin multiple times in the days before the incident without an issue having just put the device in the overhead cabin. He also tells staff he was not the person who selected the seat where the storage issue arose.
“I didn’t choose to sit here! You put me here as an airline! I didn’t make a decision to sit in this seat!” he says.
As staff prepare to remove him from the flight, Hryhorec says: “I’ve been offloaded from the plane in front of everybody watching. I feel so upset, so angry that an airline would treat people this way.”
The video also shows a staff member asking whether Hryhorec filmed crew members and requesting that he delete the footage. Hryhorec says he believes it is important for people to see what happened.
“If I didn’t record this, people would not believe me. And what’s really annoying is I’ve made many complaints to Virgin before in the past, and and they actually then say, ‘Well, we’ve spoken to staff, and they’ve told us a different story’,” Hryhorec said to PEDESTRIAN.TV.
@shanehryhorec Kicked off a Virgin Australia plane today. ✈️♿️ I boarded my flight from Sydney to Adelaide with my wheelchair, SmartDrive and service dog, just as I have on multiple Virgin flights over the past week. The problem was the seat Virgin had allocated me. There was nowhere safe to secure my SmartDrive without it rolling around near my service dog. I asked for another solution, including moving seats or securing it elsewhere on the aircraft. Instead, I was offloaded from the plane in front of everyone. I didn’t choose that seat. The airline put me there. Yet I was the person removed when the setup they provided didn’t work. This is exactly why so many people with disabilities have anxiety about flying. It’s 2026. Disabled passengers shouldn’t have to fight this hard simply to get on a plane and get home. I’m angry, upset and genuinely shocked by how this was handled today. More to come.
♬ original sound – Shane Hryhorec
PEDESTRIAN.TV understands staff spent about 30 minutes attempting talking about the situation. When an arrangement could not be reached, he was booked on a later service and given lounge access.
Hryhorec said he has travelled with his SmartDrive for nearly 15 years and has taken “hundreds and hundreds” of flights as a wheelchair user.
He said the issue was linked to the seat he had been allocated: a middle seat in row three, with a bulkhead in front and Whitney in the seat next to him.
Virgin Australia policy allows battery-powered equipment to be carried in the cabin provided it meets relevant requirements.
The airline told ABC News that the motor had been “incorrectly assessed” and issued an apology.
“Between my seat and her seat, there’s nowhere to stow my SmartDrive power assist,” Hryhorec told P.TV.
Hryhorec said he understood that airline workers had safety obligations, but he felt the situation was treated as a choice between conflicting rules rather than a problem to solve.
“It was a contradiction of rules, and rules butting heads,” he said. “It ended up being that they were no longer wanting to look at solutions.”
He said a staff member had suggested moving him elsewhere in the cabin and that he was open to doing so.
“I’m happy to move anywhere in the plane,” he said he told staff.
But Hryhorec said he was then told his service dog needed to remain in row three, leaving him with no workable option.
He said the removal was especially upsetting because other passengers watched him transfer into an aisle chair while an announcement was made about the delay.
“At that point, I felt like a burden to the airline. I felt unwelcome. I felt like a criminal,” Hryhorec told P.TV. “I want to follow their rules, but I can’t follow their rules because they haven’t allowed me the space to stow my SmartDrive.”
Hryhorec said he later travelled on a flight about five hours later, after being placed in row four. He said he was allocated three seats: one for himself, one for Whitney and one so the SmartDrive could be placed under a seat, but according to him the solution came with another problem.
“The row four is much narrower, so there’s not much room for my service animal, so it was a complete squeeze,” he said. “The bag’s taken up all of the legroom.”
A Virgin Australia spokesperson told PEDESTRIAN.TV the airline was reviewing the incident.
“Virgin Australia remains committed to providing an accessible and inclusive travel experience for all our guests,” the spokesperson said.
“While the safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority, we are reviewing the circumstances of yesterday’s experience to understand whether there are opportunities to better identify specific seating or stowage requirements in advance and how our teams can support guests in similar circumstances.”
Virgin Australia also said it had contacted Hryhorec.
“We have reached out to Mr Hryhorec to find out more about his experience and we are reviewing the circumstances that led to this unfortunate outcome for one of our guests,” the spokesperson said.
Hryhorec also said he had spoken with Virgin Australia after the incident but did not feel he had received an apology.
“At no point did [they] apologise at all about the experience I’ve had or acknowledge any wrongdoing,” he said.
A Virgin Australia statement said the company “sincerely apologises to Mr Shane Hryhorec following his recent experience”.
“We regret what occurred and acknowledge that we did not meet our own standards in how we handled this situation. Mr Hryhorec’s experience was below what we expect for our customers, and we are deeply sorry for the distress and frustration this caused him,” the statement continued.
“Virgin Australia is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive travel experience for all our guests.”
We have contacted Mr Hryhorec to apologise and better understand his experience. We will learn from this and strive to meet the standards that everyone at Virgin Australia aspires to deliver.
When we asked if any compensation was offered over the debacle, Hryhorec said there had been no offer, but there was a bigger issue at hand.
“I don’t speak out for compensation at all. I just don’t want to go through what I’ve been through, and I don’t want other people with disabilities to go through the same thing.”
Shane Hryhorec launches a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission
Hryhorec said he has now lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, though the commission will determine whether and how it proceeds.
“I’ve lodged a complaint now with the Human Rights Commission, and I will see it through,” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “I am making a point on this one, because I’ve had enough.”
He said he wants airlines to consider accessibility before passengers board, rather than forcing disabled travellers to negotiate basic needs during a flight delay.
“My ask is so simple: that people with disabilities can travel with ease, without complications, smoothly, without discrimination, and have a fantastic travel experience,” Hryhorec said.
Lead image: TikTok / Getty
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