A 60-year-old wheelchair user with a 71% disability has reported, through the Disgrup Foundation, that the company Vueling did not allow him to fly to Lanzarote because the battery of his chair exceeded the power allowed by commercial airlines.
The events occurred on November 29, when the man went to El Prat Airport, in Barcelona, to take a flight to Lanzarote, this being the first trip he had made since he has been in a wheelchair - more than five years.
Upon arriving at the airport, the passenger went to the firm's check-in counter for families and people with disabilities, where he handed over the relevant identification documents and paid the amount for the hand luggage, both his and his companions'.
Once the check-in was done, the employee who attended him requested the presence of the coordinator, who determined that the user could not board the plane because the power of the lithium battery of his chair was greater than that stipulated in the airline's policy.
“Where is Vueling's humanity?”
Given this situation and knowing “the need of this person to travel in a wheelchair due to his severe disability”, the only solution offered by the company, according to the association, was “to leave his chair there and fly”.
After explaining the impossibility of this action, the workers offered another option: remove the battery from the chair and send it to Lanzarote separately. However, when the user asked how it would be sent, the coordinator replied that “by plane”.
As both solutions were not viable, the passenger decided not to fly and requested a refund for the suitcases, since he was not going to be able to make his flight, but the workers pointed out that “it was no longer possible” and that if he wanted to, “go and complain”.
From Disgrup they affirm that this situation corresponds to a “violation of the right of people with disabilities to have a dignified life”, and they question “where is Vueling's humanity?” by causing this problem to “a vulnerable, weak person with little means of mobility”.
