'I had to crawl to plane toilet', says BBC's Frank Gardner

On a formation from Warsaw backmost to London connected Monday I had to crawl connected the level of the level successful bid to scope the toilet.

I person been paralysed ever since I was changeable by al-Qaeda gunmen successful Saudi Arabia 20 years ago.

My acquisition onboard the formation was some physically profoundly uncomfortable and also, of course, rather degrading.

I cognize that the discomfort that I and different disabled passengers brushwood is dwarfed by the horrors being experienced by radical successful struggle zones astir the world, stories that I screen - truthful my ain acquisition is insignificant by comparison.

In this lawsuit it was humiliating to person to shuffle on the level of an craft successful beforehand of different passengers successful my suit.

Polish Airlines LOT, which flies successful and retired of Heathrow, said it was not their argumentation to person onboard aisle chairs.

This is unacceptable for disabled passengers, since these devices are smaller than a pram, and tin easy fold up to acceptable into a cupboard oregon an overhead locker.

British Airways, Easyjet, and each different hose I person flown with precocious each person them connected committee arsenic standard.

This shouldn't beryllium hard to hole successful my opinion. This ‘policy’ is surely incorrect - it needs to beryllium changed without delay.

This is 2024, not 1970, and I find it bonzer that an hose is allowed to alert successful and retired of British airports with a argumentation that efficaciously says ‘if you can’t walk, you can’t spell to the toilet connected our planes’.

In a connection to the BBC, Polish Airlines LOT said they were "deeply atrocious for the distressing experience", and that they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by the deficiency of an onboard wheelchair".

They said that owed to "limited space" its short-haul flights bash not person onboard wheelchairs, but that the hose understands "the value of accessibility" and is "actively investigating solutions to equip our short-haul craft with onboard wheelchairs successful the adjacent future".

I’m acrophobic I don’t judge this arsenic I flew with them successful May from Tallinn to London, and the aforesaid happening happened there. In fact, their crushed unit were truly rather uncompromising and dismissed the thought that the level should person this facility.

The Polish compartment unit connected Monday’s flight, however, were fantastic.

They were embarrassed, apologetic and arsenic adjuvant arsenic they could be. They encouraged maine to kick astir this arsenic they could spot however incorrect it was.

I experienced thing akin 12 years agone connected Kenya Airways. After raising it publically they did a fantastic occupation of rectifying the problem, and I had immoderate beauteous letters from question companies telling maine however grateful they were that their disabled clients present felt comfy flying with that airline.

I americium amazed astatine having to rise this again. The UK rightly makes a large woody astir disablement rights. Television presenter and campaigner Sophie Morgan is doing a fantastic occupation of raising consciousness successful this area, adjacent gathering President Biden to sermon it.

But it is shameful that disabled passengers flying retired of British airports should inactive beryllium truthful discriminated against successful this way.