Disabled BBC star forced to crawl to toilet as Polish airline doesn't have wheelchairs

A Polish airline said it is "deeply sorry" in an apology to BBC journalist Frank Gardner after he was forced to crawl on the floor to use the toilet after cabin crew said it was company policy not to have wheelchairs onboard.

Veteran reporter Frank Gardner shared a photo of himself crawling on the floor close to two other people on board a LOT airline flight from Warsaw on Monday, September 30. In the image uploaded to social media, Mr Gardner bemoaned the situation as discriminatory toward wheelchair users.

Mr Gardner has used a wheelchair after he was shot several times and seriously injured in an attack in Saudi Arabia back in June, 2004. He has previously explored what it was like to become disabled in the 2020 BBC Two documentary Being Frank.

"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," Mr Gardner said on X/Twitter. "'It's airline policy.'

"If you're disabled and can't walk this is just discriminatory. 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."

Since being uploaded onto the social media platform, the post has been seen more than 253,000 times and has attracted more than 4,700 likes. Many who saw the post about Mr Gardner's situation shared their outrage on social media.

X user Hazel McIntyre said: "Shocking. So sorry to hear this, isn't it time airlines are obliged to provide on board wheelchairs to be able to hold licences to fly into international airports."

Tim Hill posted: "[I] think this airline needs to be challenged on its disability rights accessibility programme. Extraordinary that this should be happening in 2024."

Accesible Stratford commented: "This was one of the reasons I stopped flying many years ago. Another was my powered wheelchair being used as a luggage trolley. All these years later very little has changed, it's shameful."

A LOT airlines spokesperson told The Mirror: "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."

Mr Gardner previously highlighted issues he has faced while traveling via plane. In March, 2018, he shared a tweet where he claimed "time and again" Heathrow Airport had lost his wheelchair on arrival. The journalist said he had to wait 1.5 hours after landing before the issue was sorted.

According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, any passenger with a disability or reduced mobility is entitled to support when traveling by air. "This means airports and airlines must provide help and assistance, which is free of charge, and helps ensure you have a less stressful journey," it added.

A person's right to assistance is stipulated in UK law and applies when you fly on any UK airline from a UK airport, flying to an EU or UK registered airline to a UK airport and if you fly from outside of the UK or EU to the EU on a UK carrier.

The Mirror has contacted Mr Gardner for comment.