A man with cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off an Air Canada flight after a flight attendant told him there wasn’t enough time to get him a wheelchair before the next flight was due to depart.
Rodney Hodgins, 49, was traveling to Las Vegas with his wife Deanna for their anniversary trip in August when they were confronted with the “dehumanizing” experience of disembarking.
The man, who married Deanna last year, uses a motorized wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy and cannot walk.
But he was forced to hoist and drag his body down the aisle of the Air Canada flight – in front of dozens of passengers and airline staff – because the crew could not provide him with a wheelchair.
Rodney Hodgins, 49, was traveling to Las Vegas with his wife Deanna for their anniversary trip in August when they were confronted with the horrific and “dehumanizing” experience as they disembarked.
The husband, who married Deanna last year (pictured at their wedding), uses a motorized wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy and cannot walk
An aisle wheelchair is a narrow version of a normal wheelchair, used to help disabled passengers get off the plane through tight spaces.
Rodney dragged himself from row 12 to the front of the plane in excruciating pain, while his wife crawled behind him, after a flight attendant told them no help would be coming.
The couple, originally from Prince George, British Columbia, travel once or twice a year and know what needs to be done when they step off the plane.
An angry Deanna blasted Air Canada for their shameful response.
She also said she didn’t hear from the airline after giving a formal response until Rodney was called and given a $2,000 flight voucher for a future flight.
Deanna wrote on Facebook: ‘Did you know Rod had to pull his own body from row 12 on an Air Canada flight this summer???? because the crew didn’t want to wait for the team to come and help get him off the plane…
“The flight crew told us to ‘move to the front of the plane’ because ‘they had to turn the plane around’…. I looked at the crew member in bewilderment and said he couldn’t walk. How are we supposed to get over that?
“He replied, ‘Well, I don’t know, but we have to turn the plane around, we have another flight…'”
She continued, “I was so angry as I watched him struggle to drag his unwilling body so slowly and painfully… I fought his muscle spasms by dragging and pushing his legs and feet in an attempt to help…
‘Eventually he sat on my back in the cockpit and I drugged him while he helped take some weight with his stiffened legs (in full spasms) so I could get him into his seat.
Air Canada said in a statement: “We are utilizing the services of a third-party wheelchair assistance specialist in Las Vegas. “Following our investigation into how this serious loss of service occurred, we will evaluate other Mobility Assistance service partners in Las Vegas.”
“He suffered for days when we were in Vegas… I felt so sorry for him…” But he is so strong and determined that he fought through the pain so we could enjoy our anniversary there… .
“We need your help – please share this so Air Canada sees it and will finally deal with what they did to him this summer – we have given them a lot of time to reach out and try to resolve this.”
Deanna said: ‘As many of you know, my husband has a motorized wheelchair due to spastic cerebral palsy – he cannot walk. We travel 1-2 times a year.
“After planning an eight-month trip and making sure we met all our disability travel responsibilities, Air Canada failed us in every way.
“My husband was forced to drag his own body off a flight by Air Canada employees because they ‘had to turn the plane around – and had no staff to help him.’
‘8 cleaning crews, two flight attendants, the captain and co-captain watched my husband drag his unwilling body from row 12 to the front of the plane.
‘As he drugged his body, I could see bits of his dignity slowly diminishing along with his strength… I did my best to take some of his weight off his legs and help him, but we were both out of gas …’
Rodney dragged himself from row 12 to the front of the plane in excruciating pain, while his wife crawled behind him, after a flight attendant told them no help would be coming.
“It took a lot of effort, in front of a dozen people, with some looking away and others watching in shame, to get him off that plane… he hurt his legs and I hurt my back – emotionally there was a lot more hurt….
“My husband’s human rights were violated and Air Canada will not respond to us and never reached out as promised.
‘Rod is the most beautiful person on earth and didn’t deserve this at all…. Share and tag air Canada if you can – we don’t know what else we can do to get their attention…. Please feel free to contact us for more information.’
Air Canada said in a statement: “We utilize the services of a third-party wheelchair assistance specialist in Las Vegas.
“Following our investigation into how this serious loss of service occurred, we will evaluate other Mobility Assistance service partners in Las Vegas.”
According to CBC, the Canadian Transportation Agency said in a statement: “Airlines must comply with the obligations set out in the regulations and are subject to administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance.”
“Even if there is no complaint, when we are made aware of an incident that may constitute a breach of regulations, the agency’s designated enforcement officers investigate the incident.
“The agency is committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities have air travel experiences that are as barrier-free as possible.”