As an accessible travel blogger, I share many of my experiences as a power wheelchair user to raise awareness of accessibility and the barriers disabled people face while travelling. I always aim to share positive experiences but I will never sugarcoat the bad.
For instance, you may remember our awful experience with special assistance at London City Airport ( LCY) two years ago when I had to use the stairclimber to get on and off the plane.
Well, we reluctantly travelled to and from London City Airport again recently and although I didn’t have to endure the stairclimber this time, sadly accessibility and the overall experience as a disabled passenger at LCY still hasn’t improved.
Read more: London City Airport Special Assistance
I’ve debated whether to even write this post as I don’t have anything good to report. But I feel it’s important and has to be said.
We all know that travelling with a disability can be challenging and unfortunately, there are worse stories than mine. But despite the challenges, there is generally a solution and in my experience, it’s usually worth it in the end once you visit your dream destination.
That doesn’t mean airlines and airport staff can be excused for their poor treatment of disabled travellers and their mobility aids. They must do better. A great deal better. Undergoing continuous disability awareness training is one of the areas they need to focus on.
Our Experience with Special Assistance at Edinburgh Airport & London City Airport
Edinburgh is the nearest airport to where we live so it’s our main airport and we’ve become very familiar with it. So it was our first preference when we recently travelled from Edinburgh Airport to London for a work trip. On the whole, we’ve had more good experiences than bad. Some of the special assistance staff even recognise us now.
Read more: Edinburgh Airport Special Assistance – Travelling With A Disability
This was our first flight in almost two years due to the pandemic, so we were understandably anxious about flying during this time. This made it all the more frustrating that both the outbound and inbound journeys were such a nightmare from beginning to end.
I hoped to keep this brief, but so many things went wrong that I feel I need to share everything. I’m going to focus on the main five failings of special assistance at Edinburgh Airport & London City Airport based on my own personal experience as a full time power wheelchair user.
1. Poor Staff Attitudes
Disabled people often have to plan and call ahead to check accessibility for a simple day out. But when going on holiday there is so much more to consider and plan.
We may be feeling extra anxious when we arrive at the airport. We want to feel at ease and reassured by airport staff that everything is taken care of.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t our experience when we arrived at the special assistance check-in desk at Edinburgh Airport. As I handed over my boarding pass, the agent pulled up my details on his computer and without speaking to me, picked up the phone and called his colleague and asked them “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”.
He was obviously referring to me which made me feel uncomfortable and a little suspicious. He was acting like we weren’t there in front of him.
Once he had finished his conversation, he told us that I hadn’t made a special assistance request. Very confidently I told him the request was made and I had confirmation.
However, he was adamant I hadn’t, telling me it was very unlikely I would receive assistance to board the plane and that the ambulift had not been booked.
An ambulift is a vehicle used to board disabled passengers with reduced mobility, wheelchair users and elderly passengers.
In this situation, he failed to listen to us. Failed to understand. Failed to help resolve the issue. Instead, he left us worrying we wouldn’t receive the assistance required to get on our flight.
As we turned to leave the special assistance office, he said to us sarcastically “you better go now as you’re probably not going to make it on time.”
2. Lack of Communication
This was the first time we’ve been told we might not receive special assistance to board, which understandably made us panic. Imagine the scene from Home Alone as Kevin and his family are running through the airport because they are going to miss their flight.
Well, that was Allan and me, minus running on my part. I was giving Lewis Hamilton a run for his money with my driving skills.
We rushed through the airport security and arrived at an empty boarding gate. No one was there. Did we miss the flight? We felt utterly deflated.
After a few minutes, the British Airways check-in agent arrived at the gate. We hadn’t missed the flight at all, but no one was there to assist us. I was still feeling unsure, but the British Airways agent assured me that my special assistance request was booked on the system and the ambulift wasn’t required because the jet bridge was being used instead.
Allan and I were told to make our own way down to the plane and wait for special assistance to arrive. This didn’t feel right, but we were assured it was fine.
Five minutes later as I’m sitting in my power wheelchair at the door of the plane, one person arrived to assist. The cabin crew wanted to deny us pre-boarding and began instructing the rest of the passengers who began queuing on the jet bridge to board before us.
After a discussion between Allan and the cabin crew, they reluctantly agreed to let us board before the rest of the passengers. If Allan hadn’t spoken up, they would have pushed us aside and denied us preboarding. We require more time to board and this is easier and more dignified when passengers aren’t already on the plane.
Airline carriers must offer preboarding to passengers with a disability who self-identify at the gate as needing additional time or assistance to board.
Finally, another special assistance agent arrived and we both recognised each other from previous flights. They helped me to my seat on the plane, efficiently and professionally. No complaints there.
3. Mishandling Mobility Aids
As I boarded the plane, Allan began preparing my wheelchair before it was taken down to the hold. He removed the footplates, seat cushion and joystick. We take them on the plane with us to prevent them from being damaged or lost.
We always use our aviation approved ‘Airsafe Power Inhibit Plug’ which is a quick, easy and safe way to immobilise power wheelchairs for transportation on the aircraft. The airsafe key means there’s no need to disassemble or disconnect cables or the wheelchair battery which is usually a faff and can be difficult to do.
Due to past experiences of ground crew ignoring the airsafe key and manually disconnecting the battery themselves, Allan spent a lot of time explaining to the special assistance agents and ground crew what the airsafe does, where it goes and how much hassle it causes us when we arrive at our destination and discover cables have been pulled apart.
In this instance, the pilot was also there as Allan had been called down to the hold to help the ground crew who were having issues fitting my wheelchair through the hold door. Allan more or less pleaded with them not to remove any cables on my wheelchair.
Unfortunately, that was all a waste of time as when we arrived at London City Airport and they brought my wheelchair to me we could see that Edinburgh Airport had completely ignored everything Allan said.
All the cables had been pulled apart and were dragging on the ground. There was no easy way of knowing where they went. They also snapped the cover that protects the cables and batteries from getting wet etc.
If that wasn’t stressful enough, they insisted on transferring me from the aisle chair into my ‘power-less’ wheelchair on the tarmac. They pressured Allan to reconnect the cables as quickly as possible, but the ground crew at Edinburgh Airport created such a mess that it was impossible to see how to fix it.
At this point, I was still sitting in the uncomfortable aisle chair (I’ll come back to this issue) but it was too loud and too cold outside so we told them to take us inside where Allan could calmly fix my wheelchair. They agreed, reluctantly.
This caused us to be further delayed while the rest of the passengers continued on their journeys. They most likely had already left the airport, while we were stuck dealing with the mess baggage handlers caused by mishandling my wheelchair.
It is not acceptable and should not be happening. Despite correctly preparing my power wheelchair and using aviation approved safety plug as well as instructing the ground crew on how to handle my wheelchair, they still mishandled it, ignoring our clear instructions and potentially causing damage to my wheelchair.
Carelessly pulling out cables without knowing what they are doing or what the cable is for, is dangerous and irresponsible. This causes wheelchair users and potentially people with them a great amount of unnecessary stress and inconvenience. We simply don’t need that!
A few months ago well-known disability rights advocate Engracia Figueroa, died after being hospitalised as a result of an airline destroying her custom wheelchair. This is heartbreaking and her death was avoidable. Airlines and airports must do better.
4. Unsuitable Airport Equipment
For many wheelchair users, myself included, being able to remain in our wheelchairs during air travel would be life-changing. This is something that PriestmanGoode, Flying Disabled and SWS Certification aim to achieve with the Air For All seating system. The lock and securement system will allow wheelchair users to fly without having to come out of their own wheelchairs.
There are two pieces of airport equipment in particular that I’m going to talk about; aisle chairs and ambulifts.
The following is based on my experience of using both at London City Airport and why I think they are inadequate.
Aisle chairs
Until wheelchair users can remain in their wheelchairs on an aircraft, we must leave our comfortable, custom made, fully supportive wheelchairs at the plane door, then transfer into a narrow aisle chair with very little support and then sit on an uncomfortable and unsupportive seat on the aircraft.
Many wheelchair users, myself included require postural support which is something we don’t have when sitting in a regular aircraft seat.
After twenty minutes I’m already in pain and counting down the hours until I’m reunited with my wheelchair again.
When we arrived at London City Airport, I was keen to deplane as soon as possible. Once all the passengers had left, one special assistance agent arrived to help assist me off the plane. I require at least two people to transfer me. Thankfully I had Allan with me so he helped.
As the special assistance agent wheeled the aisle chair up to me, I instantly noticed the chair didn’t have a headrest or armrests. I have no neck or trunk control so I really need a headrest to prevent my head from falling back and armrests to keep me from leaning to the side.
This was an issue I brought up with London City Airport almost two years and they still haven’t improved their aisle chairs. The lack of head support was particularly dangerous when I used the stairclimber and it was tipped backwards to go up and down the aircraft steps.
Fortunately, the aisle chair had belts and a footplate. But the footplate was terrible and due to the angle and low seat to footplate height, my legs couldn’t position properly which meant my feet were unable to stay on the footplate. My knees were physically unable to bend back no more than they already were.
When the aisle chair was moving I struggled to keep my feet on the footplate so they wouldn’t drag on the ground, but it caused my feet to point down towards the ground like a ballet dancer. This in turn caused my ankles to ache and feel like they were breaking.
Ambulift
We were taken onto the small ambulift where I thought my wheelchair would be. Every time I’ve used an ambulift at other airports, I’ve been able to transfer in and out of my wheelchair inside the ambulift because it’s a large area and allows minimal time in the aisle chair.
But at London City Airport the ambulift is too small. There was barely enough room for me (in the aisle chair), Allan and two airport staff. The ambulift lowered to the ground from the cabin door and we waited for my wheelchair to be brought to us. That’s when we discovered Edinburgh Airport had ripped out the cables.
Airports need to provide aisle chairs with adequate support for disabled passengers like myself who need more postural support. A headrest should be a standard feature on aisle chairs, but it seems it’s considered a luxury.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to rest my head on the special assistance agents stomachs because there is no other way of supporting my head. This isn’t something I want to do especially in a covid world.
Aisle chairs should also have armrests and footplates that fold up/down.
On our return flight from London City, the special assistance agents again transferred me from my wheelchair into the aisle chair on the tarmac. The noise from the aircraft makes it very difficult to communicate how I need to be lifted, where I hurt and what support I need.
Do they even consider the weather when transferring disabled passengers in/out of aisle chairs in the middle of the tarmac? What if it’s raining, snowing, or a thunderstorm? Do we just get soaked and freeze?
5. Lack of Disability Training
The final straw was when we arrived back at Edinburgh Airport. As we sat on the plane waiting for the final passenger to leave, two special assistance agents approached us. Immediately I recognised one of them from a few days earlier when we checked in at Edinburgh Airport.
The same person who told us there was no special assistance booked for me and delivered the “bad news” to his colleagues about my arrival. This time he was speaking into his radio about my wheelchair.
He turns to me and asks if I can use an airport manual wheelchair and self-transfer. I say no to both questions. But he asks again as if doubting me. I explained that I need my own power wheelchair and that I need it brought up to the door of the plane.
“Apparently she needs her own chair brought up” he says into his radio. This goes on and on. Back and forth via his radio. Then Allan is asked if he is going to lift to me, but I’m using my ableMove sling so we explain how they can lift me by holding onto the handles.
The ableMove sling is quick, easy and much safer. Watch the video of me using ableMove sling in action.
Again, he asks if I can stand or self-transfer across the seat into the aisle chair. And again I explain to him that I can’t and I need a full lift. In response, he shook his head and rolled his eyes at me.
The other special assistance agent who is stood behind me is patient and understanding. He is focused on making sure my head is supported on the headrest (aisle chairs have headrests at Edinburgh Airport), made sure the belts across my body were secure and the armrests were down.
While the other agent was too distracted talking into his radio about me “wanting” my wheelchair brought up to the plane. He made it seem like I was deliberately being ‘awkward’, when in fact I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable.
Since he was in front of me, I asked if there was a footplate, but he said there wasn’t even though there was. Instead, Allan helped get my feet and legs secure. He continued speaking on the radio about me not being able to use a manual chair.
Hearing this over and over again was draining. Surely they only need to be told this once. I’m not going to decide I can suddenly walk after telling them I can’t. It was completely unnecessary and quite frankly made me feel like crap.
As I looked up at him he once again shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. At this point, I was becoming more frustrated by the whole thing. I was trying to concentrate on making sure I’m secure in the aisle chair while having to listen to him speak about me to his colleagues as though I’m some inconvenience to him.
The head shake and eye roll was the final straw. I told him I didn’t appreciate his attitude, that it wasn’t my fault they weren’t prepared for me to arrive and didn’t have my wheelchair ready to be brought up to the plane. It’s my right to have it brought up to the plane door.
They knew I was arriving and what assistance I needed. It was obvious he wanted an easy shift and I was clearly being too awkward or needed “too much assistance” for his liking.
I expected to see my wheelchair once they wheeled me off the plane, but it’s wasn’t there. We waited there for fifteen minutes or so for them to bring my wheelchair up to me. I was already feeling pain the longer we waited.
Then they decided it was best if we moved away from the plane door. We go all the way up the jet bridge and up a small platform lift. As we exit the lift we are met by a queue of people waiting to board their flight. They are all looking at me sat there strapped into the aisle chair. This isn’t a dignified way of treating disabled passengers.
I was sat in the aisle chair for around 40 minutes. Unacceptable.
I hope by sharing my experience it can help raise awareness and lead to some sort of positive change. What I don’t want to do is discourage other disabled people who are already concerned when travelling by plane. My goal with my blog is always to encourage others to travel, explore the world and make new discoveries. And I still stand sit by that.
Again, I want to emphasise that airlines and airports must do better to improve the experience and treatment of disabled passengers. I also want to emphasise that they are not all bad. I’ve had some lovely people assist me in airports who have been incredibly helpful and understanding. But overall, more disability awareness and training are required.
What has your experience of airport special assistance been like?
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26 Responses
Hi Emma,
What a nightmare!!
I haven’t had the courage to attempt a flight yet, I’m in no hurry either.
Prior to the pandemic I’d had several long haul flights as our daughter lives in New Zealand. Like you I’ve had good & bad experiences, the bad tend to stay in your mind, but I’ve also met some lovely, caring people too working in special assistance.
So glad you have detailed your experience so eloquently.
Hi Chris, thank you for your comment. I appreciate you taking the time to read my experience – it means a lot. I’m sorry you’ve also had bad experiences with special assistance at airports. It’s unacceptable. I hope you manage to fly over to see your daughter again in New Zealand sometime in the not too distant future. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year.
My blood pressure is through the roof having read your post!
I feel it’s really sad (and surprising!) that an established travel-blogger has had such an awful experience and has, quite rightly, written about it.
It’s so bad that travelling can be SO tricky even with an ‘able-bodied’ person. It must be so awful for your partner, too, seeing you in such distress!
I travel solo and, I must admit, I find it difficult to keep my cool in such situations. That arrogant Edinburgh guy needs a formal complaint.
Like most travelling disabled people I too have had good and bad experiences. Some people are SO pleasant and such stars but sadly they’re too rare.
Your report will certainly make us more aware of problems we can all face.
I so hope that changes will be made soon!
Merry Christmas 🎄 to you and your family.
Laura
Hi Laura. Thank you so much for your supportive comment – it really means a lot, thank you. I have made a complaint to both airports. I have had a positive response from one and a not-so-positive response from the other. I will of course update you all once things are a bit clearer. Thanks again and best wishes.
Thank you so much for sharing Emma. I can certainly relate! I’ve travelled by plane with a wheelchair and have ‘weathered’ (literally and figuratively!) the whole aisle chair fiasco a few times now. Same issues – poor communication, indignity, discomfort/pain, and all too often, alarming rudeness.
As Laura wrote above, travel is arduous enough already and that’s for able-bodied people! Who then wants to feel apprehension and worry on top of that when they arrive at an airport, based on their previous experiences? After one particular flight from Valencia I was completely put off flying again for several years. Saying that, I’ve had a few wonderful experiences with staff. One man at Heathrow was willing to go so far beyond what was needed that it moved me to tears. Unfortunately I’d also agree about a formal complaint regarding the person at Edinburgh Airport.
I’ve only ever travelled with my manual chair – and it’s been damaged literally every single time. Aside from the stress of having to patch it up at the other end, it’s just so disrespectful. And it isn’t like it’s a suitcase or even an expensive piece of sports equipment, it’s a vital, integral part of someone’s wellbeing and daily existence! Grrrr… Was quite disgusted to see what happened to your power chair Emma – that’s a whole other kettle of fish! Aside from the inconvenience and possible repair costs, that wiring potentially posed a threat to all involved! Wow. I hope you were able to get it sorted relatively quickly and enjoy your break away.
All I can say is: roll on the day when we can all roll on a plane in our wheelchairs!
Take care and have a great Christmas,
Hannah
Be still my beating heart!
I greatly appreciate your input.
Have a fabulous Christmas!
You should write to the Guardian & ask them to publish your story. The airline would be forced to change their ways with so much public scrutiny.
We have had a similar bad experience with British airways. They left the wheelchair in the hood & said it would be waiting for us when we got off the plane but we knew our rights & refused to leave the aircraft until it was brought to us. We stayed on the plane for over an hour & they got very frustrated with us because they couldn’t clean the plane or turn it around but we made them bring the chair to us. The day when wheelchair users can stay in their own moulded wheelchairs will be wonderful!
I love your attitude – not just putting up with unreasonable and thoughtless service! My problem, if the same situation arose, would be needing the loo! Giving me ideas, though!
Emma, the way you were treated is outrageous. It makes me mad to hear this and shows that in spite of years of people campaigning for equality and dignity when travelling things seem to be going backwards. I met you at an event several years ago at Edinburgh Airport where they were showing off their new improved assistance scheme. I have used this airport several times and at best the experience is barely adequate (like most airports). I have flown dozens of times from many international airports and it is always the most stressful time as you never know if you will be able to board and when you do it is never dignified or safe. I agree with you that aisle chairs are an accident waiting to happen. I have no trunk control or balance and if my wife wasn’t there to tell the attendants what to do (because they don’t always listen to me) I could easily end up on the floor. However as other people have said, there are lots of good people who go out of their way to make the flying experience as good as it can be and I know bad experiences will not put you off travelling. Wheelchair users can appreciate everything you went through but the benefits of travelling are immense and I think we all still need to keep travelling but not tolerating atrocious service and complaining loudly at every point when it happens. Anyway, keep on doing what you’re doing and have a great Christmas.
Well said, Andy!
I’m so glad that Emma has highlighted this often dreadful situation and as you state it is important to continue to travel and not let bad experiences (with air and other forms of getting from A to B) to put us off but to report and be vocal about unnecessarily disgraceful service.
What else can we do? Who to email to describe dissatisfaction and demand change?
Hi Andy. Thanks for your comment. I remember meeting you at that event a few years ago. It’s a shame that nothing has really improved since that event and I can think of two occasions when it’s been particularly dreadful service. I’m also disappointed in the response from Edinburgh Airport about this, but I’m not letting it go. I can completely understand as I also don’t have trunk control or balance and it’s always a worry that something will happen when they are lifting me. Allan always has to give them clear instructions and stand close in case it goes wrong which often is usually close to happening. I absolutely agree with you – we really do need to keep travelling as the benefits are fantastic but we can’t accept this awful service. Thanks again, I really appreciate your supportive words and I hope you are well. Happy New Year.
Flew into Glasgow last night Emma. Special Assistance could not have been better. Special mention to Greig who, in particular went the extra.
I now use Edinburgh services only by necessity and it seems from your report that nothing has changed from my bad experience some years ago. Fly out of Glasgow Emma for a much more pleasant experience. Their disabled services have never failed me.
I had a similar nightmare to yours at Edinburgh with their ambulift and filed a complaint because of a totally inappropriate attitude from the services female assigned to me. I took her badge number and told her I would take my annoyance further. I will see if I still have the company’s response. File a report, don’t let people in the wrong job get away with their disrespect.
Hi Tom, thank you for reading my post – I appreciate you taking the time to read this and for commenting. I am definitely going to look into flying from Glasgow in the future. The last time we flew out of Glasgow was many years ago. Usually, the time’s flight times from Edinburgh suit us best, but I think we are just going to have to ignore that and go to Glasgow for better service. It’s reassuring to know you’ve always had positive experiences at Glasgow. Thank you for letting me know. Who did you get a response from when you filed your complaints? I’ve made a complaint, but I’m not too pleased with the response. Thanks again. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hi again Emma
You will really need to change your airport as Ive just found your first bad experience with Edinburgh in your blog of 2018 and my same response dated 31 August 2018. All these years have passed and still the same complaints. Ive had a search for my correspondence regarding my complaint but sorry…..cant find it.
As an aside but again from Edinburgh Airport for another rant……..was the elderly fella coming back from Cyprus who got wheelchair assistance all the way to his seat but as soon as we stopped on the tarmac at Edinburgh he jumped up, grabbed his overhead bag and ran off the plane. I must admit I caused a bit of a scene at the luggage carousel as I called him out. LOL.
The Edinburgh assistance team told me that same scenario happens two or three times every week there.
Happy New Year.
Hi Tom. I’m not sure when we’ll be flying again, but when we do I’m definitely looking at flights from Glasgow as these complaints are happening all too often. The staff really need better training, it’s just not acceptable and I won’t accept it.
Oh no, I can understand your frustration at seeing people abuse the service when they clearly don’t require assistance. I would love to not have to use it 🙁
Hope you’re keeping well and Happy New Year.
Jesus, do we have to threaten everyone with being written up before they do their goddamn jobs?? Even with expressed, detailed instructions they don’t give a shit. I hope you made an extremely detailed complaint about that super rude guy. Clearly he needs to not be working with the public, since he can’t act right and do his literal job. I also hope you managed to talk to someone who didn’t just brush you off about the whole situation. Seems like they did literally every single thing wrong.
Hi Bayleigh. Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to read my post – it’s very much appreciated. I’ve made complaints to both airports but waiting on a proper reply from them. I’ll provide an update when I know more. Thank you again. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hello from Finland.Kind of ran into your blog via instagram🙂
Thanks for sharing.Have never thought about this subject before.Makes me sad though to hear you don’t always get treated with respect.We humans are not the nicest.
Very nice that you take time to write and share about this.Thank you and Merry Christmas ❤🤶🙂
Hi Camilla. Thank you for your kind comment. I’m so glad you found my Instagram and read my blog post – I really appreciate it. I’m delighted it has helped raise awareness for you into a subject that you hadn’t heard much about before. Thank you again for your time. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year ❤🙂
Hi Emma,
I’m really sad to hear this as Edinburgh is my local airport and the last time I flew in December 2019 -pre Covid -special assistance was a little better after complaining the time before! I wondered if you would consider contacting the local MP and MSP who are usually quite helpful and would probably be horrified?
I totally understand why you are more likely now to use Glasgow, but I think that the more people who complain about poor treatment the more likely things will be to improve!
Thanks for all the effort you put into your blog!
Hi Sally. Thank you for your comment. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post. That’s interesting that you also complained about the special assistance at Edinburgh Airport. May I ask if you received a positive response to your complaint? I have made a complaint to Edinburgh and have received a response, but I’ve been told they are having a meeting to discuss the points I’ve raised so I’m now just waiting to hear back. I will absolutely consider contacting the local MP and MSP. Did you also do this? Thanks again and take care, Emma.
I personally wouldn’t have been able to keep my mouth shut as soon as he said “wanna hear the good new, or the bad news?”
It was very difficult, but I didn’t let him get away with it on the return journey.
I’ve just banged the dining table reading this and an argument going on in my head where I’ve raised my voice at the rolling eyes part. Seriously I don’t think I could contain myself and be patient like you were. Maybe that’s the reason there is poor customer services with airline staff as we tolerate too much. Thanks for the insight Emma.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, Shazad. I’m sorry it made you get angry. There really does need to be huge changes to the attitude of staff. Hope you’re well.