A disabled BBC reporter was forced to crawl across the plane’s floor to get to the toilet because there was no wheelchair.
Security journalist Frank Gardner, who was paralyzed by an al-Qaeda attack in Saudi Arabia in 2004, took to social media to detail his shocking experience on the flight back from Warsaw.
Alongside a picture showing her feet on the plane floor, she said: ‘Wow. It’s 2024 and I just had to crawl on the floor of this Polish LOT airline to go to the toilet during the return flight from Warsaw because “we don’t have a wheelchair. It’s the airline’s policy”.
‘If you’re disabled and can’t walk, that’s just discrimination.’
He added: “In fairness to the cabin crew, they could have helped and apologised. No mistake, it’s an airline. Won’t be flying LOTs again until they join the 21st century.’
The journalist was showered with support from his followers, with @kejamieson writing: ‘How is this still happening in 2024?! It was horrible.’
‘Oh for goodness’ sake I hope you’re ok,’ @Jothegingernut replied, to which Frank said: ‘Bit of pain backside and my suit is not happy but hey.’
Frank had been using a wheelchair after being shot six times by al-Qaeda gunmen while reporting on terrorist activities, and was left with damage to spinal nerves and a colostomy bag.
He also spoke about his ‘shocking’ experience on a flight on BBC Breakfast, saying: ‘When someone drags you to the toilet… it’s very difficult.’
‘It is inhumane to make passengers crawl into the toilet on your plane.’
In his 2020 film, the documentary Being Frank: The Frank Gardner Story, the 63-year-old wanted people to ‘see the iceberg below the surface’ and expose the often unspoken reality of life as a disabled person. about.
‘People look at people in wheelchairs, like me, and they might think “poor guy, I wonder if he needs help?” What they don’t see is all the things that need to be done below the surface,’ he said BBC.
He also spoke in the documentary about the pain he still suffers from the attack, which saw him shot ‘at point blank range’ first in the shoulder, then a second bullet in the leg, with several others shot as he regained consciousness.
‘Then they stood over me and put another to me,’ he said, and added: ‘My horse was shot to pieces.’
When the documentary aired, Frank added to the BBC that he was still dealing with nerve pain in his leg that felt like someone had ‘taken a big hammer and smashed the side of my knee – for five to 10 seconds, but really. I’m so sick I can hardly speak’.
He continued: ‘I want people to see that despite all this… you can still live a normal life.’
The airline has since apologised, saying in a statement shared with Metro.co.uk: ‘We are deeply sorry for the distressing experience Mr Frank Gardner had on his recent flight with us. We apologize for the inconvenience and inconvenience caused by not having a 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 short-haul aircraft with onboard wheelchairs in the future.
As mentioned on our website, for long-haul flights, we provide onboard wheelchairs to help passengers move around the cabin. In addition, our ground staff are always ready to assist passengers from check-in to boarding and from the plane to the baggage claim area.
‘We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to Mr Gardner and sincerely apologize for the distress caused. We are committed to improving our services to ensure all passengers have a comfortable and dignified travel experience.’
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