Paralympic racing legend Tanni Grey-Thompson was asked if she had tried walking when her wheelchair disappeared on a flight to Birmingham. The former athlete, who won 16 Paralympic medals, 11 of them gold, said the airline then tried to return two sleeping bags to her, claiming that was her lost property, before her chair turned up in Dublin weeks later sawn in half.
"It came back to me in two pieces," she said. "It had been cut in half and it was suggested I might like to try and duct tape it back together, which didn't work."
Aviation Bill aims to improve disabled passenger rights
Now an independent crossbencher sitting in the House of Lords, she told the story as peers discussed a new aviation bill which will give powers to fine airlines that failed to properly help disabled passengers. It will also give ministers the authority to establish regulations covering aircraft departure and arrival times, airline obligations when luggage goes missing, and pricing clarity.
Lady Grey-Thompson, who used to be based in Birmingham, said her chair went missing as she flew from Geneva in Switzerland. She said: "When it became clear my chair was not there, I was asked by a member of staff, had I ever tried to walk? Would I like to try to walk? No – can't walk."
"The airline tried then to return two sleeping bags to me and argue with me that was my lost property, even though they were clearly tagged to a different airport and another name."
Racing chair damaged in separate incident
Recounting a separate flight, she said that when her racing chair's wheels sustained damage, an airline "immediately jumped to replacing them" with a costlier set. She said: "There needs to be some proper assessment of damage and ensuring the level of liability is commensurate with the need of the equipment."
She had previously highlighted "a lack of data of when things go wrong – it's hard to know who to contact, who to complain to, how to resolve issues and actually even who has responsibility". Lady Grey-Thompson argued: "This Bill presents a significant opportunity to do something very different for disabled people."
Peers call for stronger protections
Fellow Paralympic gold medallist Lord Christopher Holmes of Richmond called for greater transparency on how disabled passengers' rights would be reformed rather than waiting for ministerial guidance following its passage into law. The Conservative peer, a blind former swimmer, said: "Come fly with me? Well, not without greater protection and coverage on the face of the Bill, not least for disabled people. When we look at the current draft of the Bill, we see nothing specifically for disabled people, older people, younger people, or anything specific on equality."
Labour peer Baroness Theresa Griffin of Princethorpe said she had found herself in "holding pens in airports, once being given colouring pencils" while travelling to Strasbourg, France, for a European Union event.
Transport minister Lord Hendy said several peers "spoke passionately and with great strength of feeling about the inadequacy of some of the actuality that people have faced, particularly if they're disabled, whether they're physically disabled or neurodivergent or with sensory issues about air travel". He said: "And that's why the Government has brought this forward, because it doesn't accept that that's inevitable."
