Wheelchair-bound traveler missed two flights and waited six hours for a Qantas domestic transfer when employees questioned why she couldn’t go up the stairs.
Emma Weatherley, a disabled passenger, was ‘humiliated’ by Qantas personnel in Sydney.
She was denied boarding on her aircraft to Brisbane due to her wheelchair.
Ms. Weatherley had returned to Australia following a business trip to the United States.
The disability advocate “waited for years” before being sent to a terminal via bus.
Then she was unable to check in her wheelchair and was forced to wait for six hours.
A wheelchair-reliant business traveler was prevented from boarding her Qantas aircraft and questioned about her inability to climb stairs.
In June of last year, Emma Weatherley felt ‘humiliated’ by the ‘rude’ and ‘demeaning’ personnel she encountered when attempting to return to Brisbane.
The error occurred after the renowned national airline issued apologies for delays, cancellations, lengthy boarding waits, and poor customer service.
Emma Weatherley (pictured) claimed her miserable experience began when she landed in Sydney after attending a business conference in the United States.
Ms. Weatherley, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, said that her experience began when she landed in Sydney after attending a business conference in the United States.
She said that other passengers were permitted to board the Brisbane aircraft, but she was denied access due to her wheelchair.
She told Daily Mail Australia, “It was quite discouraging and inconvenient.”
The [Americans with Disabilities Act] makes traveling in the United States much simpler. As soon as you return to Australia, prejudice will resume.
Through the Qantas handicap hotline, she had arranged for a staff member to assist her with her domestic transfer out of Sydney.
However, the Qantas representative at the airport was unhelpful and did not know how Ms. Weatherley could move terminals, so she “waited for hours” for them to devise a solution.
The mother of two alleges Qantas employees were ‘rude’ and ‘demeaning’ to her as she attempted to board her Brisbane-bound aircraft (pictured, Ms Weatherley with daughters Alyssa and Hannah)
The Qantas workers put Ms. Weatherley on a bus to drive her to her Brisbane flight and assured her that someone would meet her there, but no one did (pictured, a stock photo)
She was quite impolite and disrespectful. She inquired whether I could go up the steps for the transfer, despite the fact that I was in a 200-pound wheelchair. The advocate for the disabled stated.
And she said, “I’m familiar with wheelchairs,” as if it meant anything. I felt ashamed and degraded.
The staff then escorted her to a bus where they said someone would meet her on the other side.
‘But no one arrived. The bus left me off in the arrivals terminal instead of the departures terminal, so I had to make my own way with my wheelchair and bags,’ she claimed.
When she eventually arrived at the check-in counter, it was too late for the employees to load her wheelchair, thus she missed her flight.
The entrepreneur said, “I couldn’t even get on the following aircraft since there was no one to help me, so I had to wait six hours.”
She ultimately boarded the aircraft home after her employer had to act as a temporary caregiver and accompany her back to the airport.
After Ms. Weatherley filed a complaint with Qantas and waited weeks for a response, the airline said that it would investigate.
She was eventually given a $50 Qantas voucher ‘as a gesture of goodwill’
Qantas said to the Courier Mail, “Our team is investigating the incident and has reached out to Emma personally.”
All of our customer-facing employees get comprehensive training to assist clients with special requirements, including those with impairments.
The muscular dystrophy patient said that she lacks confidence in Qantas’s ability to accommodate her on future flights and would thus travel with her spouse.
I went through all the hurdles handicapped individuals must jump through every day to receive basic services. In spite of this, I was left stuck for six hours without assistance.
“Had I not been crippled, I would have boarded that aircraft. That constitutes discrimination and is illegal.’
Ms. Weatherley is the executive director of FSHD Global Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funding and awareness for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD).
FSHD is a hereditary muscular illness that affects 1 in 2,000 Australians and causes facial, shoulder blade, and upper arm deformities.
According to her, the organization is the sole source of financing in Australia and intends to bring clinical trials to the country.
Last week, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (pictured) claimed that the airline has lost $1.9 billion and failed to offer appropriate customer service.
Meanwhile, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said last week that the airline has lost $1.9 billion and failed to offer appropriate customer service.
The airline will increase tickets by 20% and charter fewer flights as a result of growing fuel costs and personnel issues.
Some flights may incur an extra $300 fee for passengers.
Flights from Melbourne to Sydney would cost $250 instead of $230, while flights from Brisbane to Sydney would increase from $269 to $295.
Daily Mail Australia reached out to Qantas for comment.
The airline issued Ms. Weatherley (pictured) a $50 voucher and said it is investigating what transpired on the day she traveled.