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EasyJet’s policies prevent wheelchair users from flying
August 23rd, 2010
By Jill Insley, Guardian.co.uk
The airline easyJet has come under fire for preventing thousands of disabled people from flying on its planes by refusing to allow most powered wheelchairs onboard.
The airline refuses to carry in one piece wheelchairs that weigh more than 60kg without their batteries. Trailblazer, a campaign group for people with muscular dystrophy, claims this restriction excludes most powered wheelchairs, which weigh an average of 100kg with their batteries detached.
EasyJet blames the weight restriction on health and safety rules, which limit the amount each baggage handler is allowed to lift. A spokesman said that because the airline operated only short-haul flights and did not carry cargo, it did not have the aircraft or equipment necessary for lifting and carrying heavy objects.
“EasyJet welcomes more than a quarter of a million passengers with reduced mobility every year and we regularly carry powered wheelchairs, provided they can be collapsed into separate parts weighing less than 60kg each. This is a necessity to protect the health and safety of the baggage handlers who have to lift the wheelchair into the aircraft.
“The Civil Aviation Authority recognises that the carriage of such wheelchairs is difficult for airlines since they have to meet health and safety requirements, and considers that their carriage requires co-operation between passengers and the airline as to what is practicable.
“EasyJet follows this advice and therefore asks passengers with heavy wheelchairs to inform us at least two days in advance via our contact centre, of the total weight of their mobility aid and also bring the operating instructions with them to the airport.”
He admitted that some passengers may have been misinformed that wheelchairs above the weight of 60kg were prohibited.
“We would like to apologise for those who have been incorrectly advised. This has now been clarified with our call centre staff and on our website so that everyone is clear about the policy,” he said.
Disabled travellers, however, were not appeased. Hannah-Lou Blackall, a social worker from Hull who has congenital muscular dystrophy and uses a battery-powered wheelchair weighing 120kg, was hoping to fly from Gatwick to Krakow in Poland in September. Easyjet is the only airline which flies this route direct, but Blackall is unhappy about allowing anyone to dismantle her expensive and complicated wheelchair while she is travelling.
“It’s not our choice to have to take a wheelchair,” she said. “But as we do need to take one, we want it to be easy.”
She said dismantling the wheelchair “causes stress for us and for everyone travelling with us”.
Other airlines allow disabled passengers to take wheelchairs on to aircraft without weight restrictions, although Ryanair does have size limits written into its terms and conditions. BA allows passengers to take two wheelchairs on board, and says it simply uses extra staff to lift wheelchairs into the hold when necessary.
In its report All Inclusive?, Trailblazer also criticises airlines including Ryanair, which does not allow customers to use their own oxygen canisters, instead charging a £100 “tax on breathing” for those who require permanent ventilation.
It urges EeasyJet to change their rules in line with other airlines and for all airlines to follow the lead of those which provide oxygen service free of charge, such as British Airways and Virgin.
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