Disabled BBC journalist Frank Gardner has told how an airline prevented him from using a wheelchair on board – forcing him to crawl between the bathroom and his seat.
The corporation’s security correspondent, who was shot and paralysed by al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia in 2004, has criticised LOT Polish Airlines and vowed never to fly with them again.
Mr Gardner, 63, posted about the ordeal on X, formerly Twitter, to his 125,000 followers – then spoke on BBC Breakfast this morning about what he called the airline’s ‘inhumane’ approach, as he urged them to ‘sort it out’.
He shared a photograph of his legs on the floor of his flight, writing: ‘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.’
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner shared this photograph on X, formerly Twitter, as he told of being forced to crawl on a flight after being prevented from using a wheelchair
Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, Frank Gardner accused the airline of being ‘inhumane’ and urged them to ‘sort it out’ as he told viewers of his ordeal on the flight from Warsaw to London
LOT Polish Airlines has apologised for Frank Gardner’s ‘distressing’ experience on their flight
He added in a follow-up post: ‘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.’
And he blasted the airline’s approach as ‘inhumane’ when talking about his experience on the London-bound flight on BBC Breakfast this morning.
Mr Gardner said: ‘It is outrageous in terms of air travel that LOT, the Polish airline I travelled on from Warsaw last night back to London, had no onboard aisle chair.
‘I said, “Well, how do you expect me to the loo?” “Well, we can help you.”
‘Well, not really, because if somebody drags you to the loo it’s too difficult. I had to crawl on my backside along the floor – which wasn’t particularly clean – of the aircraft.
‘The cabin crew were very embarrassed and they were as helpful as they could – there was a really nice steward there who was fantastic. He was able to take my legs.
‘But the point is, guys, it’s not difficult to have an onboard aisle chair. These things fold up to the size of a pram, if not smaller, and they fit into an overhead locker or into a cupboard.’
Many people offered him support in replies to his original post on X, while expressing dismay about the airline’s policy.
One commenter said: ‘Think this airline needs to be challenged on it’s disability rights accessibility programme. Extraordinary that this should be happening in 2024.’
Another wrote: ‘Absolutely unbelievable this wasn’t made clear in advance so you could avoid booking. UK airports should not be selling slots to this company.’
Mr Gardner was also told: ‘I hope what you have had to go through tonight will mean they change their outdated policy to a new policy that mentions the word “dignity”. I am sorry you had to yet again find the strength to endure.’
Frank Gardner told BBC Breakfast: ‘It is outrageous in terms of air travel that LOT, the Polish airline I travelled on from Warsaw last night back to London, had no onboard aisle chair’
Frank Gardner has said of the Polish airline involved: ‘Won’t be flying LOT again until they join the 21st century’
After being shot and left for dead in Saudi Arabia in June 2004, he returned to work 10 months later – appearing here on BBC Breakfast News with Dermot Murnaghan and Natasha Kaplinsky
Other responses included ‘Absolutely appalling’, ‘Words fail’ and ‘This is honestly shocking’, while there were calls for LOT Polish Airlines to apologise.
Mr Gardner replied to one commenter by saying: ‘I don’t understand why an airline like this is allowed to fly in and out of UK airports. It would take nothing to fix this.’
And now the firm has said it was ‘deeply sorry’ for Mr Gardner’s ‘distressing’ ordeal.
In a statement to MailOnline, LOT insisted the airline did permit onboard wheelchairs – but only on long-haul flights, though they are investigating whether they could be extended to short-haul journeys.
LOT said: ‘We are deeply sorry for the distressing experience Mr Frank Gardner encountered on his recent flight with us. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by the lack of an onboard wheelchair.
‘Currently, onboard wheelchairs are available on our Dreamliner aircraft. However, due to limited space, our short-haul fleet does not yet have this facility.
‘We understand the importance of accessibility and are actively testing solutions to equip our short-haul aircraft with onboard wheelchairs in the near future.
‘As mentioned on our website, for long-haul flights, we provide onboard wheelchairs to assist passengers in moving around the cabin.
‘Additionally, our ground staff is always ready to assist passengers from check-in to boarding and from the aircraft to the baggage claim area.
‘We deeply regret the inconvenience Mr Gardner experienced and sincerely apologise for the distress caused.
‘We are committed to improving our services to ensure all passengers have a comfortable and dignified travel experience.’
Social media users offered sympathy and support after reading of Frank Gardner’s experience on the LOT flight while there were also calls for the airline to apologise
Mr Gardner has been using a wheelchair since being shot by al-Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia in 2004 while reporting as the BBC’s Middle East correspondent
But Mr Gardner said on BBC Breakfast: ‘The idea that, oh yeah, we’re looking into this, it’s something we’ll consider – that is a rude word beginning with B, because I flew LOT before in May, from Tallinn, and I had the same thing.
‘It’s an arrogant and lazy attitude. Sort it out, LOT – you shouldn’t be flying in the 21st century without an onboard aisle chair.
‘It’s inhumane to make passengers crawl to the loo on your planes.’
A new campaign called ‘Rights For Flights’ was launched earlier this year, with backers including the charity Disability Rights UK and disabled TV presenter Sophie Morgan.
Supporters want the Civil Aviation Authority to be given new powers to fine airlines and other groups for failing to take good care of disabled passengers.
They say many travellers suffer poor experiences such as being left to wait too long on a plane after landing and having wheelchairs damaged in transit.
Mr Gardner previously told in June 2022 of being left stranded on an empty plane at Gatwick as he slammed UK airports for their ‘consistently cr*p’ treatment of wheelchair users.
He was forced to wait on the aircraft from Madrid while passengers and Iberia Express airline crew disembarked the plane without offering him assistance.
He said that was the fifth time this had happened to him since he began using a wheelchair after being shot six times by militants while reporting in Saudi Arabia.
In 2004, Mr Gardner and his cameraman Simon Cumbers were working in Saudi Arabia, finishing a piece for television.
They were shot six times at close range by a group of al-Qaeda sympathisers and Mr Cumbers was killed while Mr Gardner was left for dead.
Mr Gardner has spoken previously about being badly treated on planes and at airports, including delays being helped to disembark after landing
Frank Gardner joined the BBC in 1995 and became Middle East correspondent four years later
Irish freelance cameraman Simon Cumbers, 36, was killed in the June 2004 shootings of him and Frank Gardner in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh
His legs have minimal sensation from the knees down, while above the knee he can feel them but can ‘barely move them’.
Despite his injuries, Mr Gardner – who had been the BBC’s Middle East correspondent at the time of the shooting – returned to work and was awarded an OBE for services to journalism in 2005.
He has continued to cover stories in danger zones around the world.
Adel Al-Dhubaiti, the man who murdered his colleague, was later caught and sentenced to death, and executed in Saudi Arabia in January 2016.
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