Ryanair passenger paralysed from waist down drags himself up stairs

Moment ‘humiliated’ Ryanair passenger who is paralysed from the waist down is forced to drag himself up stairs on coach home after his flight was diverted

• Spencer Watts, 27, was flying back from Lanzarote when his flight was diverted 
• Distressing footage shows him being forced to climb up the stairs of a coach

This is the shocking moment a ‘humiliated’ Ryanair passenger who is paralysed from the waist down was forced to drag himself up the stairs of a coach after his flight was diverted.    

Spencer Watts, 27, was flying back from a family holiday in Lanzarote on February 17, when his Ryanair flight to Bristol was unexpectedly diverted to Birmingham.

The wheelchair-user said he told the cabin crew he needed an accessible coach for his transfer back home. 

But after being reassured by the aircraft team that assistance was arranged, Mr Watts claimed he and his family found no suitable transport available in the arrival hall.

The father-of-two proceeded to visit the desk, where he alleged that an advisor said Ryanair had not made the ground handler aware that Mr Watts needed extra support.

Distressing footage shows the disabled father having to shuffle up the six coach steps backwards, using his hands and arms to drag his body along the ground. 

Distressing footage shows Spencer Watts, 27, having to shuffle up six coach steps backwards after his Ryanair flight from Lanzarote to Bristol was unexpectedly diverted to Birmingham

The father-of-two, pictured with his family, said he had been reassured by the aircraft team that assistance was arranged, but he found no suitable transport available in the arrival hall

Ryanair claimed the flight crew had requested special assistance upon arrival at Birmingham Airport but that the provider failed to deliver it.

Mr Watts, a sales advisor from Tiverton, South Devon, claimed the experience was ‘humiliating’ and he feels as though Ryanair ‘failed their duty of care’.

‘My assistance at the airport had been booked a month in advance,’ he said. 

‘They were fully aware that there was someone on that aircraft in a wheelchair that needed assistance on and off the aeroplane.

‘I was left with no option but to bum shuffle onto a coach.

‘I [felt] so embarrassed and humiliated in terms of having to do that in a crowded audience of people.

‘Pressure sores are a big thing for us.

‘Being put in that kind of situation, where I have to shuffle across a bare floor, there’s obviously a very high risk of me getting a pressure sore and becoming bedbound for at least a few months.

Talking about his experience, Mr Watts said: ‘I [felt] so embarrassed and humiliated in terms of having to do that in a crowded audience of people’ 

Mr Watts said: ‘It’s not a good thing. It’s not exactly a comfortable manoeuvre for me to have to drag myself along the floor’ 

The wheelchair user said the experience of having to shuffle up six steps was ‘humiliating’ 

‘It’s not a good thing. It’s not exactly a comfortable manoeuvre for me to have to drag myself along the floor.

‘Not only am I in a wheelchair, but the son I was with is also severely autistic, so change is a massive thing for him.

‘And when he’s seeing his dad bum shuffling on a coach, a child worries about the fears of anything could happen.

‘So he’s like, ‘Dad, what if there’s a fire on this coach, how are you going to get off?’

‘It was a concern for my whole family, it wasn’t just me.’ 

He added: ‘The upset, and the uproar for my family, all of us, wasn’t needed and could have been avoided really easily.

‘I would not fly with Ryanair again until I get an apology from them. They failed their duty of care.’

A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘This flight from Alicante to Bristol diverted to Birmingham due to adverse weather conditions at Bristol Airport.

‘Special assistance at Birmingham Airport is managed a third-party provider – not Ryanair.

‘As the flight was not planned to arrive at Birmingham Airport, special assistance at Birmingham Airport had not been pre-arranged, however the crew of this flight requested special assistance upon arrival at Birmingham Airport, which the provider at Birmingham Airport failed to provide.’

Birmingham Airport has been contacted for a comment.

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