A disabled man travelling from Belfast to London to visit his sick father missed his flight when airport security refused to allow him to carry his wheelchair repair kit.
Belfast international airport has apologised to Steve Smithers, 48, who was told his repair kit, which contained several spanners and a wheel nut and which is essential to adjust his chair, was a security risk.
Smithers was travelling to London Gatwick airport on Saturday to visit his 79-year-old father who is about to start treatment for cancer.
Security staff claimed the spanners would be a security risk because they could be used to “dismantle the plane”, he told the BBC. He said he tried to explain that he needed the toolkit in case his wheels broke, and to adjust his wheelchair to fit the hire car he had booked for his arrival at Gatwick.
When he asked if cabin staff could look after the repair kit, he said, he was told that was not possible. When he offered to put the repair kit in the hold, he was told there was no time for him to make it back through security in time for his flight.
Smithers, who broke his back in a traffic accident in 2007 and is paralysed from the chest down, said nobody wanted to listen to him.
“When I booked this trip, all I wanted to do was to get to see my seriously ill father. I have travelled extensively over the 11 years I have been paralysed and there have never been any problems preventing me from doing so independently.”
He said he had no choice but to miss his flight. “For disabled people it is not about asking for special treatment but simply wanting the opportunity to live life as unimpaired by our disabilities as is possible, and to be allowed to do so with dignity,” he added.
@belfastairport - Heard of Equalities Act? guard today prevented disabled man from visiting elderly father with cancer. Told passenger too late to check into hold, not possible for crew to store & security risk that man paralysed from chest down would try to dismantle theplane! pic.twitter.com/wrXM9HhblY
— Lisa Clydesdale (@ClydesdaleLisa) August 4, 2018
Smithers’ partner, Lisa Clydesdale, who publicised his plight on social media, said he was “literally in tears” trying to explain his predicament. He had now postponed his trip.
In a statement, Belfast airport said it acknowledged Smithers had had a “distressing experience” at the security search point, and officials had spoken to him and his partner to offer an apology. It had offered alternative travel and transfer arrangements, but, at the couple’s request, had instead agreed to make a donation to a disability charity.
“As the treatment experienced by Mr Smithers during this process fell well below standards expected from security personnel, in order to remedy this the airport will be immediately reviewing customer service and escalation procedures with our security provider ICTS,” it said.
