Disabled mother humiliated by airline staff who told her to ‘hurry’ walking – when her wheelchair did not show up

A disabled mother has spoken of her humiliation after being told to ‘hurry up’ as she was forced to walk across Birmingham Airport’s tarmac when her wheelchair did not show up.

Jo Winter, 50, was flying to Copenhagen with her daughter, Sally, who wanted to visit the city as she might spend time studying abroad there during her upcoming degree.

Jo was looking forward to the trip as she underwent chemotherapy treatment for her multiple sclerosis (MS) in January, which left her housebound for four months.

Keen to get out and explore, she has set up multiple trips this summer and bought a special £1,700 travel wheelchair to help her when out and about. She says her worst MS symptom is fatigue and the ‘chair helps her immensely’.

But as she waited to board her Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) flight to Copenhagen on July 7 ahead of the seven-day trip, Jo was met with what she described as the ‘most humiliating experience of her life’.

She claims that a member of SAS ground crew tagged her wheelchair before taking Jo and Sally down in a lift to wait to board.

Other passengers queued on the stairs and were said to have witnessed another staff member ‘removing the tag’ and informing Jo that the chair would not be permitted on board the ‘full’ plane.

The mum says she was then left crying on the floor during the ordeal, and was made to walk across the tarmac and up the steps to the plane while reportedly being told to ‘hurry up’ by the staff member.

Jo said that she was promised that her chair would be safely stored at Birmingham Airport and that her husband would be contacted to collect it – but this never happened.

Instead, on arrival to Copenhagen Airport a very ‘apologetic’ SAS manager organised for the chair to be flown over, and it arrived at Jo’s hotel on the second day of their trip.

Before this, she was forced to fork out extra cash on taxis to get around without discomfort.

Jo, who is from Moseley, admits she should have notified staff at the check-in desk that she had the chair, but did not do this as she was only travelling with hand luggage.

The SAS manager at Copenhagen Airport said the chair should have been allowed onto the plane, she claims.

Speaking about the ordeal, Jo said: ‘I’ve previously taken a walker when I’ve gone away, but I had a type of treatment for my MS in January, which is a type of chemotherapy.

‘In the long run, it will slow down the progression of the MS, but it has made me have quite bad fatigue.

‘I was going to Copenhagen with my daughter, and I knew that I would need to do a lot of walking. Airports are incredibly difficult places for people with MS’.

Jo explained that while she can walk, her greatest symptom of MS is her fatigue and standing up is ‘really difficult’.

‘There is a lot of queuing in airports and just walking to the gates is really difficult,’ she said.

‘Life had just got harder since this treatment I had in January, so we bought the wheelchair for the trip.

‘I can lift it on my own as it folds to the size of a buggy. I’m travelling quite a lot this summer as the treatment I had obliterated my white blood cells, so I was home for four months and couldn’t go out anywhere. 

Jo was looking forward to the trip as she underwent chemotherapy treatment for her multiple sclerosis (MS) in January, which left her housebound for four months. Pictured: Jo Winter with daughters Sally and Molly

‘I’m going on a lot of trips this summer on planes and trains, and so when I bought it, I was sure it was suitable. I was very careful with what I bought and made sure it was plane safe.

‘I sometimes receive special assistance at the airport, but I didn’t need it as I had the chair.’

The mum-of-two was diagnosed with MS around 30 years ago.

She later had to quit her job teaching law at a university because of her condition and bought the chair – which has a flight-safe lithium battery and weighs 18 kilos – for her travels.

When Sally, 18, tried to speak up for her mum by telling the staff that Jo is protected by various equality Acts and that her chair is specifically designed for travel and meets the airline’s carry-on requirements, one of them reportedly put his hand up in her face and told her that he was not talking to her.

Jo was then allegedly told to ‘hurry up’ by a SAS ground crew member who walked ahead of them onto the plane.

‘It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life,’ she said. ‘He made me drag my hand luggage across the tarmac and carry it up the stairs as he walked ahead.

‘Once we got on the plane, the cabin crew were amazing, they were so nice.

‘They phoned ahead and in Copenhagen we were met by special assistance and taken straight to SAS, and they were absolutely fantastic. They said that should never have happened to us.’

In stark contrast, travelling home from Copenhagen Airport was a breeze for Jo and SAS staff accommodated her chair with no problems at all.

Jo claims that a member of SAS ground crew tagged her wheelchair before taking Jo and Sally down in a lift to wait to board

Jo and her family now hope that sharing her story raises awareness of the need for competent disability training in the workplace.

A spokesperson for SAS apologised for the incident: ‘This is an incident we certainly wish had not occurred. We work continuously to ensure that all travelers are met with respect and dignity, and it concerns us that the passenger had a negative experience with our staff in Birmingham.

‘We take matters of this kind very seriously and have been in touch with Josephine to recognise that the situation was not handled as it should have been, and to address the financial aspects of the case.

‘In addition, we have been in contact with the station managers in both Copenhagen and Birmingham to gain a clear understanding of the course of events and to provide feedback to those involved, with the aim of learning and improvement.

In our review, we found that the wheelchair had not been pre-registered at the time of the original booking, which may have contributed to the challenges during boarding.

‘At the same time, we recognize that this should not overshadow how the situation was experienced. We are pleased that the customer felt well taken care of both onboard and upon arrival in Copenhagen, and that the wheelchair was returned to the passenger shortly thereafter.’