United Airlines is apologizing after a disabled man had to crawl off a plane to get to his wheelchair.
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D’Arcee Neal, who has cerebral palsy, was waiting for a special aisle wheelchair on the plane Tuesday night when he finally gave up and began to crawl off the plane because he had to use a restroom at the airport. After waiting and then urgently needing to use the bathroom, Neal was reduced to crawling half the length of the plane, down the aisle and to the doorway where his regular wheelchair awaited, he told NBC Washington. “No one should have to do what I did”.
Neal was flying home after giving a speech in San Francisco about accessible transportation. But after the airline failed to provide him with an aisle chair or employee assistance, he ended up having to crawl to the door, he said. United told NBC Washington that it “regrets the delay in providing an aisle chair to assist Neal”. He was informed that it would take another 15 to 20 minutes for the device to be brought back – on top of the 20 minutes he had already waited while all of the other passengers disembarked. “I just hope they learn from this”.
Mr Neal has worked as a disability advocate for years in nonprofits and now works for the federal government. He was in San Francisco for a meeting with the car-hire company Uber to discuss accessibility policies.
Moreover, the airline reportedly suspended the manager on duty and offered Neal $300 in compensation, which he accepted.
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Despite being pleased with the company’s response following the incident, Neal said he has been contacted by a group trying to file class-action lawsuits against the airline industry for issues with disability access. He says he never made a complaint, and his story only drew attention because he posted on Facebook that he was happy United reached out to him.
