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Journalist fed up with airport's treatment of passengers with disabilities

Social action March 24, 2018
London's Heathrow Airport has said sorry after BBC journalist Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) claimed staff lost his wheelchair when he was returning from Ethiopia. After hearing his story, others are sharing similar experiences and called for airports to change the way they treat passengers with disabilities.

I am so utterly sick of ground staff 'losing' my wheelchair. Over 70 mins after landing back from Ethiopia I'm still stuck on an empty plane while they try to find it Just when is UK's premier airport going to stop treating disabled passengers this way?

493 replies 4,380 retweets 9,320 likes

Odd that I can travel round the Middle East and elsewhere without a hitch. Yet time and again loses my wheelchair on arrival. Now been on an empty plane 1.5 hours after landing. Believe me, I'm as bored of writing this as you are of reading it.

236 replies 1,390 retweets 3,703 likes

Finally off after 100 minutes

86 replies 272 retweets 1,841 likes

Not. Good. Enough. You must be fuming Frank. Hope they sort it soon.

3 replies 55 retweets 681 likes

Cheers Sara. Finally got off the plane exactly 100 mins after landing. I've had better treatment in Djibouti.

10 replies 88 retweets 761 likes

That sounds really shit. Genuine question - what is the procedure for wheelchairs on flights? Do they have to be stored in the hold? Is it the airport's fault or the airline or both?

7 replies 51 retweets 348 likes

It's up to the cabin crew if they can find space to put wchair in cabin - BA always let me do this on long haul. O'wise it goes in hold with instructions to bring it up to door on arrival. UK ground staff often ignore this.

15 replies 138 retweets 629 likes

A young man in my village had his wheelchair destroyed when his costly chair, which provided for his independence & was specially tailored, was placed atop a trolley with no restraint - from which it fell & was smashed. C’mon airlines - wake up!

4 replies 145 retweets 680 likes

I'll suggest a rule. Disabled passengers looked after first and no-one else can get off until they're on their way.

23 replies 176 retweets 1,373 likes

That’s just not acceptable, at a modern airport like . I sat on a train, next to a blind man last week. He was promised to be met by GWR staff as he changed trains at Reading. That didn’t happen. You should make a documentary on this, Frank!

3 replies 122 retweets 660 likes
Replying to

Hi Frank, we are really sorry to hear that. Are you able to DM us with further information?

47 replies 54 retweets 154 likes
Replying to

Apology not accepted. You do this nearly every time. You 'create a case number' then it happens again the next time. This casual disregard for disabled passengers is a disgrace to British airports. LHR2 flight ET700 from Addis Ababa.

35 replies 604 retweets 3,479 likes