A disabled woman was forced to drag herself down the aisle of an AlbaStar flight to get to the bathroom after being told be crew members to "wear a nappy". Jenny Berrie posted a video to Tik Tok of her humiliating experience onboard the plane from Newcastle to Palma, Spain.
The clip has since gone viral with over five million views, with many disgusted at the treatment Jenny faced while flying with the airline. In a voiceover, she claimed staff refused to assist her after she was told there was no aisle chair - a specially designed wheelchair that is slim enough to manoeuvre between the seats - available onboard.
Jenny, who is paralysed from the waist down, said she had been taken to her seat on an aisle chair, but was informed that it could not be kept for the duration of the flight and was removed before takeoff. In the video shared last Tuesday, Jenny's husband can also be seen having to help lift her onto the toilet.
During the clip, Jenny explains: "Obviously, this was quite a small space, so it was a bit of a struggle. When you've got to go, you've to go, so this is what we had to do."
According to the Mirror, the crew wouldn't let her sit "anywhere near the front of the plane even though there was spare seats". Jenny added: "One staff member told me quite rudely that disabled people should just wear nappies on board, which I find bizarre that people think that is the solution to this scenario.
"They said there wasn't enough room for an aisle chair, even though they had room to have drinks trolleys, perfume trolleys and cigarette trolleys. Every other flight I've been on has had an aisle chair.
"Then when I asked to go to the toilet they said no, that they wouldn't help and they just proceeded to keep serving the drinks, which is great. There's a lot of improvements to be made when it comes to accessibility in the travel industry and I hope they are made soon."
Writing about the ordeal on Instagram, she said: "Life as a disabled person can sometimes be downright degrading and embarrassing, and unfortunately, this was one of them times. To be outright told to my face that I should wear a nappy when I don't need to and that they are happy with that policy made me feel humiliated."
She has now launched a petition a petition to have aisle chairs mandatory on all UK flights and has gotten almost 5,000 signatures. In a statement to Insider, AlbaStar said it had expressed its "sincere apologies for the event that recently took place on one of our flights in relation to the flight experience of a passenger with reduced mobility".
It added: "Aisle wheelchairs are not mandatory as per current regulation, not even recommended nor mentioned when talking about aircraft equipment/furnishing."
Speaking on Instagram, Jenny said she was happy she "got video footage of it all," adding: "I know it's not something people want to see, but without this footage, disabled people simply aren't believed." She added it was "incredibly embarrassing and degrading" to share these experiences online but that she did so to "ensure that things change."
AlbaStar has been contacted for further comment.
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