Malaysian para-athlete and motivational speaker Daniel Lee recently took to his own Twitter profile to recount an ordeal that he had experienced while flying with Qatar’s flag-bearing airline, Qatar Airways. Explaining that he suffers from a medical condition known as Brittle Bone Disease (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), Daniel is able to walk with some limited capacity after surgery, but requires the help of a wheelchair for mobility.
In spite of his circumstances, he has been travelling alone for almost a decade, and has been self-reliant all this time. Yet on his latest trip home from Cairo, he claims he was nearly prevented from boarding his flight after he had attempted to request for a inflight cabin wheelchair from a Qatar Airways manager.
National para-athlete told he may not board flight if he needed a wheelchair while travelling alone
Apparently according to the airline’s protocol, those who require the use of an inflight cabin wheelchair will need to also have a travel companion with them when they fly. Yet if he could still manage to walk on his own, albeit with some difficulty, cabin staff were allowed to assist him when required. But as Daniel did not meet the requirements for an inflight cabin wheelchair as he was traveling alone, he was told that he may not be allowed to board the plane.
“If what the Qatar Airways manager said was true about the policy, then does this mean a person with disability (PWD) has no right to travel alone? “Not ALL disabilities!” the manager said. “Someone who’s deaf can.”” he adds.
And despite trying to explain his condition to the manager, the man simply told Daniel that he understood his circumstances before he even had a chance to tell him what his condition was.
“He simply asked if I could walk or not.”
In fact, the manager even went so far as to look at Daniel’s legs and point out that he can move them before gesturing wildly, as though making the insinuation that he should be able to walk as his legs could move.
“I have Osteogenesis Imperfecta a.k.a. brittle bones disease. Though I’m able to walk after my surgeries, if I feel pain while walking I might break it if I push myself to walk more. The cabin chair is for the event if it happens. So it’s not an easy “yes/no” to whether I can walk.”
Dismissive & insensitive attitudes coupled with exclusionary policies against PWD
Sharing the conversation he had with the manager, Daniel alleges that he was told that he may not be allowed to board the flight if he did not travel with a companion and needed an inflight cabin wheelchair, as it was ‘not safe’. And upon asking what he should do if he was travelling alone, the manager simply replied ‘I’m presenting the question back to you. What will you do?’.
Both shocked and surprised by the question, Daniel decided to then forgo the cabin wheelchair entirely for the sake of boarding his flight. “Worst case, I’ll crawl to the lavatory.”
To which the manager told him he was not allowed to crawl. Understandably frustrated by this point, he resigned himself to the situation and said he would walk, if they would allow him to board the flight. Even then, the manager said they still cannot decide if they would allow him to do so.
Throughout it all, he shares that the manager adopted an insensitive and dismissive attitude, and appeared to be outwardly polite but became more shrewd with his words when he noticed Daniel jotting down their exchange. Daniel went on to add that airlines should consider reviewing their policies that may potentially be discriminatory and non-inclusive to Persons With Disabilities (PWD), and strive for inclusion.
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