KLM apologises after Paralympian denied onboard wheelchair on 11-hour flight

The incident happened on a KLM flight when Babalola, who competes for Nigeria, was returning to her home in Chicago from an athletics event in Cape Town, South Africa. Photograph: Toussaint Kluiters/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

The Dutch airline KLM has offered “sincere apologies” to a Paralympic athlete who was denied access to an onboard wheelchair during a long-haul flight so she could go to the toilet.

The cabin crew on the flight later called the police after the request from Hannah Babalola, 37, who is paraplegic and competes in track events, for the wheelchair, known as an aisle chair as it is narrow enough to be used inside a plane. They first handed her a written notice, headed: “Unacceptable conduct and final warning on behalf of the captain of this plane.”