A British journalist, Frank Gardner, who lost his legs while reporting in the Middle East, recently faced a distressing situation on a LOT Polish Airlines flight. During his return journey from Warsaw, Gardner was compelled to crawl across the cabin floor due to the airline’s absence of onboard wheelchair facilities.
Gardner, a respected BBC correspondent, shared his experience on social media, describing it as “shocking.” He explained that when he needed to use the restroom during the flight, he was informed by the crew that the airline does not provide wheelchairs on board. This left him with no choice but to crawl to the toilet.
Wow. It’s 2024 and I’ve just had to crawl along the floor of this LOT Polish airline to get to the toilet during a flight back from Warsaw as “we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy”. If you’re disabled and you can’t walk this is just discriminatory. pic.twitter.com/aFuxo89DR5
— Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) September 30, 2024
In his post on X, Gardner expressed his frustration: “Wow. It’s 2024 and I’ve just had to crawl along the floor of this LOT Polish airline to get to the toilet during a flight back from Warsaw as ‘we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy’. If you’re disabled and you can’t walk this is just discriminatory.”
Despite his frustration, Gardner commended the cabin crew for their helpfulness and apologetic nature, clarifying that the issue lay with the airline’s policy. “In fairness to the cabin crew, they were as helpful and apologetic as they could be. Not their fault; it’s the airline. Won’t be flying LOT again until they join the 21st century,” he added.
Gardner’s social media post triggered widespread empathy and disbelief from users. Many expressed their outrage over the lack of accessible facilities on airlines. One user remarked, “Shocking – so sorry to hear this. Isn’t it time airlines are obliged to provide onboard wheelchairs to hold licenses to fly into international airports?”
Another suggested a practical solution, writing, “Would it be so hard to make a wheelchair that runs along the same gunnels that the trolleys do, and can lock in place if necessary so that wheelchair users can get to and from their seats? Pretty sure they would only need one per aircraft.”
Gardner’s career has led him to report from some of the world’s most dangerous regions. In 2004, while covering a story in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he was shot by Al-Qaeda gunmen, which resulted in partial paralysis.
As of now, LOT Polish Airlines has not issued an official statement regarding this incident, but the public is hopeful that the airline will address the pressing issue of accessibility for all passengers.
