Budget-friendly airline Wizz Air has been forced to apologise after a video emerged online appearing to show man on crutches being removed from a flight.
According to a viral TikTok video showing the incident, the man was a wounded Ukrainian soldier who’d lost his leg in the war.
The video, which has been edited to have no sound, has a text overlay that alleges the man stood for 90 minutes without being offered a chair before being told he wasn’t going to be able to fly to Warsaw as he’d planned.
The writing over the clip goes on to say that the man told staff he was flying home to his loved ones after getting treatment abroad, and, at one point during the conversation, fell down.
Allegedly airline staff told him that they were ‘trying to solve the problem’ and asked him ‘What did you take?’
While the video, posted by an account called @Mbbddk, claims that the man wasn’t allowed to sit in his ticketed seat because of his prosthesis, the airline has said he wasn’t fit to fly on medical grounds.
In response to the video, Wizz Air said: ‘The passenger concerned was not in a fit state to fly and, in accordance with safety regulations, the crew was unfortunately forced to deny boarding … as much as they wanted to help the passenger get home to his family [the flight crew] acted with the safety of the other passengers on board in mind and in accordance with the required protocol, in consultation with the airport medical staff and the captain of the aircraft.’
Following this statement, the airline clarified there’s no prejudice against passengers with disabilities among staff, adding: ‘To be clear, we would never discriminate against someone on the grounds of a disability and regularly fly passengers with prosthesis.’
The company also tweeted on Sunday: ‘We apologise for the upset caused regarding a passenger on our Tel Aviv flight to Warsaw recently.
‘Safety is our number one priority and it is our crew’s responsibility to ensure that all passengers are fit to fly or are accompanied by someone to support them.’
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
MORE : When do budget airlines release flights? EasyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air
MORE : What is skiplagging, and why are airlines not happy about it?
MORE : Airline passengers vote to kick disruptive woman off flight
Get need-to-know travel news, inspiration and advice from Metro every week.
Sign up here…
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
For all the latest Lifestyle News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
