A woman, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, was left stranded as airline staff failed to assist her in getting her wheelchair on board.
She went to TikTok to share her awkward and horrific experience. She faced numerous difficulties during the flight, including finding it nearly impossible to use the bathroom on board.
The video which has since gone viral, shows Jennie Berry having to drag herself down the aisle of the plane, while other passengers witness the situation.
Additionally, the clip highlights the fact that it’s essential for planes to accommodate disabled people.
In this instance, Berry was not provided with the appropriate assistance to board the plane with her wheelchair, resulting in her being seated in a regular coach seat. This made it difficult for her to sit comfortably and also created an obstacle when she needed to use the restroom.
That’s not the cherry on the cake; when she had asked for assistance from flight attendants but they sadly ignored her and continued serving others. They suggested that she wears a nappy in future.
The caption to the video reads: ‘’Here’s how I had to get to the toilet on my recent Albastar Airlines flight. They told me I should wear a nappy and wee in my seat instead of having an aisle chair onboard…’’
@wheelie_good_life Here’s how I had to get to the toilet on my recent Albastar Airlines flight. They told me I should wear a nappy and wee in my seat instead of having an aisle chair onboard…
Proper accommodations, such as an aisle chair or a wheelchair, is a vital part to ease difficulties for disabled travellers. Berry told ‘’you tango’’: “There are a lot of improvements to be made when it comes to access in the travelling industry and I hope that they’re made soon.”
In a follow-up video she shows what travelling should look like for a disable passenger: ‘’How I go to the toilet onboard a plane: updated version - HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE ✅’’
@wheelie_good_life How I go to the toilet onboard a plane: updated version - HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE ✅ You might recall a few months ago I posted a video of me shuffling to the toilet on the floor as @albastar.airline didn’t have an aisle chair onboard. ✈️ Here’s how it should be done, as can be seen on a @tuiuk flight. Ironically, I’d booked through tui in the first instance, knowing they provide these, but unfortunately they chartered the flight out to the third party - Albastar, which is where the problem occurred 😓. @albastar.airline CEO, Michael Harrington told me that ‘there is no way we can have these aisle chairs on board as they are too big!!!!’ 👀… Here’s a video of the size of these ‘huge’ aisle chairs I was asking him to put on his SIX planes that Albastar has in their fleet. Not a huge ask. I’m not asking for the world here - just a small adjustment to give disabled people the same human right as everyone else on flights. I’m not asking for staff to wipe my bum or lift me anywhere - just to simply carry one of these small foldable aisle chairs on board. At present, there is NO regulation for airlines to carry these onboard, and rather than do the right thing like the likes of @tuiuk @easyjet @ryanair and lots of other similar low cost airlines do - they’d rather hide behind this loophole in the law. The disabled community have had enough, and this is just one issue when it comes to flying as a disabled person - broken wheelchairs, disabled passengers left on flights for hours to name a few. Please sign my petition (link in bio) and share this video. Together we will not be silenced. • • • #A#AlbastarAirlinesD#DisabledTravelD#DisabledPersonD#DisabledWomanA#AirlinesW#WheelchairUserW#WheelchairTravel ♬ original sound - Jennie Berry
One viewer wrote: ‘’I’m so shocked that you were treated like that!’’
Another viewer shared his concerns as a disabled passenger: ‘’that is very true and I am fully blind and airport's are not very good and need improving.’’
‘’Please sue the airline where you had to crawl. that's inhumane treatment and the way the crew treated you,’’ wrote another.
However, Berry spoke to the CEO of Albastar Airlines to request the use of aisle chairs for disabled passengers, but the CEO said it was not possible due to their size.