Victoria Brignell (pictured) waited more than 90 minutes for assistance staff to arrive
(Picture: Twitter)Gatwick Airport has apologised to a disabled passenger who was left stranded on a plane for more than 90 minutes after it had landed.
Victoria Brignell, who is paralysed from the neck down, has spoken out about her “stressful” experience after she was left waiting alone in a wheelchair when all the other passengers had departed the commercial flight on Saturday.
Cabin crew eventually helped to carry Victoria off the plane after assistance staff from the airport had failed to arrive.
"In the end I was stuck on the plane for an hour and thirty five minutes,” she told ITV News Meridian.
"Obviously the plane couldn’t take off again until I’d been taken off, so it delayed the next flight too. It’s really important that the air industry improves the service it gives disabled people.
"They need to plan their staffing properly so that there are people able to help. It’s not rocket science."
Hi @Gatwick_Airport my friend with a disability, Victoria, has been left waiting on a plane that’s landed for getting on for an hour now. This is really unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/D4Jxj1LZX1
— Sonia Sodha (@soniasodha) June 4, 2022
Her friend Sonia Sodha drew attention to the “totally unacceptable” situation after posting a picture of her stranded on the plane on Twitter.
“This is such appalling service to people with a disability,” she wrote.
In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: “The treatment received at Gatwick Airport was not acceptable and I would like to offer our sincere apologies to Victoria.
"This incident has been escalated and Gatwick and Wilson James, our assistance provider, are investigating how this happened as a matter of urgency.”
