East Midlands Airport has issued a statement after a Paralympian's wheelchair was lost ahead of an important game. It is understood that Jessica Whyte, a Paralympic basketball player for Team Scotland, departed on a flight to Amsterdam shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday (July 23).
The athlete was due to compete alongside her team in the Commonwealth Games which get underway on Thursday (July 28). The high profile competition will be held in Birmingham from July 28 until August 8.
However, Ms Whyte will not be able to compete without her basketball wheelchair. Her team colleague Robyn Love has turned to her social media followers to ask for help.
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In a tweet posted on Monday (July 25), she said: "Heading into the Commonwealth Games Village tomorrow and my teammates Basketball Chair is lost at East Midlands Airport. We can’t get in touch with anyone at the airport and she can't compete without it!"
She also later tweeted: "No chair yet. We went to the airport but it’s at their storage facility with other lost luggage. There is no direct number just an online form where they will get back to you in 30 days."
In a statement, a spokesperson for East Midlands Airport said: “We appreciate the concern that this is causing the athlete and, along with the airline’s ground handling agent, we are doing everything we can to help find the missing wheelchair.”
A spokesperson for the airport said later on Monday evening that the wheelchair is not at East Midlands Airport. They added: "We have CCTV footage of it being loaded onto the flight to Amsterdam. We’ve been in contact with the team manager all afternoon and we will continue to support the athlete and her team as they try and find it."
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