Qantas passenger Nikita Bennett crawled to her seat after falling from her wheelchair
- Qantas passenger fell from wheelchair
- Nikita Bennett was forced to crawl to her seat
A Qantas passenger was left embarrassed and had to crawl to her seat when airline staff dropped her from her wheelchair as she boarded a flight home.
Nikita Bennett, who has cerebral palsy, also had to wait half an hour before being given a wheelchair, despite Qantas being warned in advance of her requirements.
Ms Bennett said when she boarded the flight after the delay, she was dropped off by an airline employee.
Nikita Bennett had to crawl to her seat on Tuesday after falling from her wheelchair while boarding a plane
Ms. Bennett lives with cerebral palsy. Image: 7 News
“He pulled pretty hard and the chair came out from under me, and I basically fell on top of myself,” she told 7 News.
“It was embarrassing, it was done in front of a whole plane full of people.”
The shocking incident happened on Tuesday on board a connecting flight from Melbourne to Mildura, where Ms Bennett lives.
A Qantas spokesperson told NCA NewsWire that staff had delayed the flight by more than half an hour to accommodate Ms Bennett’s connection and said wheelchairs were available for her at every step of the journey despite the delay.
“Our team in Melbourne postponed the flight from Melbourne to Mildura to ensure Ms Bennett could get home,” the spokesperson added in a statement.
‘Unfortunately, whilst being helped to her seat, Mrs Bennett had fallen from the wheelchair. Our team on board the flight was clearly saddened by the situation, apologized and offered to help her to her seat, which she declined.
‘We regularly transport customers with disabilities and have made arrangements to ensure their journey goes smoothly. We have reached out to Ms Bennett to apologize for her experience.”
Qantas said it had apologized to Ms Bennett for the incident (stock image)
The incident is the latest bad news for the embattled national carrier, with CEO Alan Joyce on his way out of his post two months earlier amid a series of scandals.
The airline is facing a series of damaging allegations, including advertising tickets for flights that have already been canceled and misleading customers about refund options and flight credits.
Qantas recently reported pre-tax profits of $2.47 billion for the 2022-2023 financial year.