"I Had to Crawl to the Plane Toilet," Says BBC's Frank Gardner
On a flight from Warsaw back to London on Monday, I had to crawl on the floor of the plane to reach the toilet. Having been paralyzed since being shot by al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia 20 years ago, this experience was both physically uncomfortable and, of course, quite degrading.
While I recognize that the discomfort I face as a disabled passenger is minor compared to the horrors endured by people in conflict zones around the world—stories that I cover—it was still humiliating to shuffle along the aircraft floor in front of other passengers while dressed in my suit.
Polish Airlines LOT, which operates flights to and from Heathrow, stated that it is not their policy to provide onboard aisle chairs. This is unacceptable for disabled passengers, as these devices are compact enough to fit in a cupboard or an overhead locker.
In contrast, British Airways, EasyJet, and every other airline I’ve flown with recently include aisle chairs as standard equipment. I believe this should be an easy issue to address. This policy is outdated and needs to be revised immediately.
We are in 2024, not 1970, and it is astounding that an airline can operate in and out of British airports with a policy that effectively states, “If you can’t walk, you can’t use the toilet on our planes.”
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