Frank Gardner, a reporter for the BBC, shared his very negative experience onboard a flight on LOT Polish Airlines
, saying that he was forced to crawl along the floor to get to the bathroom since the airline did not have any onboard wheelchairs.
Crawling along the floor
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gardner, a BBC security correspondent, said that he had to crawl along the floor on a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw, Poland, presumably to London, the United Kingdom
.
Photo: Grand Warszawski | Shutterstock
Gardner added that this was because the airline’s policy resulted in its aircraft not having any onboard wheelchairs.
“If you’re disabled and you can’t walk this is just discriminatory.”
In a follow-up post, Gardner stated that while the airline’s cabin crew were “as helpful and apologetic as they could be,” it was the fault of the Polish carrier, which was still not in the 21st century in terms of their accessibility policies.
LOT Polish Airlines only operates flights to London in the UK, which includes three daily flights to London Heathrow Airport
(LHR) and five weekly departures between Vilnius Airport (VNO) and London City Airport (LCY).
The Republic of Lithuania had funded the latter under the Public Service Obligation (PSO) model, switching the route to a risk-sharing partnership starting October 1, 2023.
LOT Polish Airlines accesibility policies
According to the Polish flag carrier’s website, it offers special services for passengers with reduced mobility.
There are three types of services that support passengers to cover long distances, assistance to move up or down the stairs, or assistance in the complete lack of mobility.
While the former two are for passengers who have a certain level of mobility, the airline has advised travelers without any mobility to choose the latter.
“An attendant (usually one or two people) will accompany you all the way – from the moment you arrive at the airport to the moment you take your seat on the plane, as well as upon arrival at your destination airport.”
Photo: MS_Digital | Shutterstock
This was also the only assistance service that would help passengers get from the aircraft door to their seats. However, the airline’s policies outlined that if a traveler were flying with their own wheelchair, it would be placed in the aircraft’s baggage hold due to limited space onboard.
“Meanwhile, our personnel will assist you in moving between the check-in counter and the airplane, and from the airplane to the baggage claim area after landing, in another wheelchair.”
Flights with the Boeing 787-8
or 787-9
to the United States
were exempted from the above rule. At the same time, only one wheelchair can be placed onboard the aircraft. The airline did not disclose how it would deal with a situation when two passengers with reduced mobility were flying to the US.
Still, on all of its 787s, of which LOT Polish Airlines has 15 per ch-aviation, the airline has onboard wheelchairs to help passengers move around the cabin.
Accessibility rules
According to the UK Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), when a passenger with a disability or reduced mobility is traveling via air to or from the UK, or on a UK-based airline, they are legally entitled to support.
That support “can cover” journeys through the airport, boarding procedures and in-flight help, disembarking the aircraft, transferring between flights, and traveling through the destination airport.
“Airlines are also obliged to provide assistance to and from the toilet and most will have onboard wheelchairs on each of their aircraft. It is important to discuss your onboard needs with the airline before you travel so that they can tell you about the facilities that are available and how their staff can help you.”
Photo: United Airlines
Meanwhile, in the US, the government passed the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which went into effect on January 3, 2022, has mandated airlines to have a wheelchair on all aircraft with more than 60 seats and an accessible lavatory.
If an aircraft with more than 60 seats does not have an accessible lavatory, airlines must have an onboard wheelchair on the flight if a passenger with a disability provides a 48 hours’ notice that they can use but need an onboard wheelchair to use the lavatory.
Furthermore, all twin-aisle aircraft – which, for example, the 787 is – must have accessible lavatories, according to the US Department of Transportation
(DOT).