A British man with multiple sclerosis has claimed he almost lost his foot when he became stranded on a plane and paramedics had to use food carts to help him get off.
Geoffrey Schneiderman, 63, landed at Vancouver International Airport aboard a British Airways flight in July 2022 for a family vacation.
After landing at the airport, the staff on board the plane informed Schneiderman that they did not have the necessary elevator to help him exit the plane safely in his wheelchair.
After two hours of confusion and failed attempts to help him off the plane, paramedics had to use food carts to help him off the plane.
“I guess they did their best to keep me level and on the food carts, but food carts are just not designed to carry people,” he said.
After landing in the Canadian city, flight crew informed Geoffrey Schneiderman that they did not have the necessary equipment to help him disembark.
'I started to feel very worried and panicked. They had no way to keep it [the food trolleys] together differently than manually,” he said CBC News.
Schneiderman said sitting for long periods of time gave him pressure pain.
He was bedridden during the holidays and the pressure ulcer on his foot became septic and almost required an amputation. He also said the incident had left him with fear.
Schneiderman continued, “It was like it was happening to someone else. I started having panic attacks about it and panic attacks about being stuck somewhere.
“I remember there were parts in it. I just closed my eyes, knowing I was completely trapped. It was terror. It was just terror.”
Paramedics had to decide to use a rigid stretcher to lift Schneiderman onto the top of two trolleys, leaving his head and legs hanging over either end.
To his horror, the carts began to separate as paramedics wheeled him down the aisle.
“The carts started falling apart – that's the point my partner said he almost had a heart attack because he could see what was happening and heard them yelling for the carts to fall apart,” Schneiderman added.
After he finally emerged from the plane, he claims the paramedics who assisted in his rescue then dragged him to his waiting wheelchair.
A pressure ulcer on his foot became septic as a result of the incident, with Schneiderman saying his foot was close to being amputated after the flesh died.
The personnel on board the plane informed Schneiderman that they did not have the necessary elevator (seen here) to help him exit the plane safely in his wheelchair
'They pulled out from under my arms and dragged me along. My shoes came out of my pants and my pants actually started falling off,” he said.
Once the pressure ulcer became septic, there was talk of amputation of his foot after the flesh died and became necrotic.
He added: “I used to be pretty much in the best health I've been in a long time and it just put the spokes in the wheel for absolutely everything.
'I went to hospital three times a week to have the bandages changed and it took over my whole life.'
British Airways offered him a settlement of £500 ($630), which he eventually negotiated down to £1,500, about $1,900.
Schneiderman, right, and his longtime partner Francisco, left, were traveling from London to Vancouver to visit family when the incident occurred
In a statement to CBC, Vancouver International Airport said: “Airlines have a duty to safely board, transport and deplane all passengers.
'It is also the responsibility of each airline to work with the contracted ground handling staff who support airlines by providing the specialized equipment needed for travelers with mobility issues.'
Last month, Air Canada came under fire after the airline was accused of disconnecting a disabled woman's ventilator.
Alessia Di Virgilio, a disabled woman who uses a wheelchair to move and a ventilator to breathe, was filmed having her breathing apparatus disconnected while traveling with Air Canada in an undercover CBC report.
Hidden cameras captured poorly trained staff struggling to move Di Virgilio, causing her ventilator to come off several times.
Di Virgilio said without her ventilator she can only take a few breaths before her breathing becomes shallow.
She was also given a lift by the company's staff, whose CEO was paid $9 million in 2022.
Air Canada said in a statement to CBC: “The vast majority of customers with mobility needs traveled without any issues and in the relatively rare cases where barriers were encountered, we acted quickly to address concerns.”