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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Bradley Jolly

Wheelchair user 'abandoned' and 'forced to crawl down stairs' after Ryanair flight

A wheelchair user was "humiliated" after he claims he was forced to crawl off a Ryanair flight upon landing.

Adrian Keogh, 37, was told there was no one to help him disembark the plane after it arrived at Landvetter airport in Sweden on Saturday night.

Cabin crew reportedly watched the dad struggle down the steps.

Adrian, who had flown to Sweden to visit his daughter for her 14th birthday, said: "I feel terrible about it. How could this happen in 2023? I felt so humiliated being told that I had to wait at least an hour.

"And then having to crawl along the floor in front of some people who were watching me. It was humiliating."

The 37-year-old dad had to make his own way off the plane in Sweden (Adrian Keogh/Instagram)

The tourist, from Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland, was told when he landed in the country that the lift that would allow him to be taken off the plane in his wheelchair would take at least an hour to arrive.

He said he decided to crawl off the plane because he was in pain and didn't want to have to wait until midnight to leave.

Adrian, who has been using a wheelchair since a construction accident in 2015, told Mail Online: "It's shocking that the service is not there for me. It's a total lack of respect."

The father added that the authorities at Landvetter airport blamed Ryanair and Ryanair blamed the airport.

He now has spoken out to help raise awareness of the challenges wheelchair users face, and hope it stops another person going through the ordeal.

Adrian, from Ireland, has spoken out to try to help others (Adrian Keogh/Instagram)

But in October last year, Mirror reported how a disabled woman also ended up crawling off a plane after the airline she flew with failed to provide an aisle wheelchair on landing.

There wasn't an aisle wheelchair available for Natalie Curtis when she landed in Bangkok, Thailand.

And Adrian, who suffered spinal injuries in the construction accident, said he too has been stuck on planes previously due to similar shortcomings.

He wants to "highlight the struggle" wheelchair users face.

Landvetter Airport apologised for the incident in a social media post and blamed busy flight traffic and a medical emergency for the delay in assisting the man off the plane.

Ryanair said it was looking into the incident, adding that special assistance at the airport was provided by a third-party.

James Taylor, Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: "Disabled people have long been let down in airports in the UK and now we have this appalling situation in Sweden.

“For a long time we’ve been concerned about disabled people being failed by airlines and airports.

“This has been going on too long. The impact is often degrading, stressful and anxiety-inducing and stops some disabled people from travelling altogether.

“It’s time that airlines and airports are fined for putting disabled passengers in peril."

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