Disabled Flight Passenger Forced To Drag Himself Across Airport Floor, Plans To Sue

A paraplegic athlete plans to sue the Luton Airport in London, after his customized wheelchair got left behind and he was forced to to drag himself across the airport terminal.

When Justin Levene, 29, arrived at the airport in August last year and realized that his flight had arrived without his self-propelling wheelchair, and the airport staff could not arrange a similar one for him, he refused to opt for the alternative offered – being strapped into a regular wheelchair and having the airport employees push him through the terminal.

Levene, who became an international wheelchair athlete, trainer and mentor to disabled athletes, even working with orphans and disabled children in Moldova and helping the nation organize its first all-inclusive marathon, told BBC that he had rejected the option of being assisted across the airport because he did not want to compromise the self-independence he had worked so hard to maintain over the years.

“And to be in one of the chairs they were offering would make me feel humiliated and degraded. They insisted in trying to strap me down in it. I wouldn't have been able to adjust myself, and would have been at risk of getting a pressure sore,” he added.

Although Levene said that he understood that airports can make mistakes, he had not faced a situation like that till that day, despite having to travel to various places all over the world.

"Every single airport I've been to, no matter where it is, no matter how small the airport may have been, there has always been some form of equipment, whether it has been a self-propelled wheelchair or a buggy," he said.

With the airport’s lack of options for Levene, he was filmed dragging himself for hundreds of yards across the airport floor toward the exit. Once out of the airport, he managed to get himself on top of a baggage trolley and then used his hands to propel forward and board a cab.

Levene said that he decided to sue the airport because the incident “humiliated” him and the lack of “empathy” from the airport staff left him “angry.”

“There should be appropriate equipment in every single airport. If something does happen, no-one should be put in the position that they are forced to crawl through the airport or drag themselves along the floor. And there should be some form of equipment to move themselves independently. Someone whose chair is their legs shouldn't be forced to be reliant on others for help,” he said.

The airport defended its staff’s behavior in handling the situation involving Levene. In a statement regarding the incident, the airport said:

"On discovering that Mr. Levene's flight had arrived without his wheelchair, our teams worked hard to find a solution, offering Mr. Levene an assisted wheelchair as a temporary replacement. Mr. Levene declined all offers of help as he deemed them unacceptable. While we apologize if Mr. Levene was dissatisfied with the service he received, we are satisfied that our agents and staff did all they could in difficult circumstances."