Loose Women’s Sophie Morgan demands aviation changes for disabled after wheelchair destroyed on flight

Television presenter and disability activist Sophie Morgan is launching a campaign to lobby for legislative changes in the UK’s aviation industry after she was left stranded when airport staff destroyed her wheelchair.

The Loose Women panellist and disability advocate, 36, who is paraplegic, is known for campaigning for inclusive and accessible travel.

She was 18 when she was involved in a car crash before becoming one of the first female disabled television hosts in the world.

The spinal injury left her instantly paralysed from the chest down and now she uses her platform to fight against discrimination.

When wheelchair users and those that depend on a mobility device fly, they arrive at the aircraft door and their wheelchair or mobility device is taken away and put down in the hold.

Ms Morgan has now joined forces with SNP MP Marion Fellows to launch a ‘RightsOnFlights’ campaign to allow the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the powers to fine airlines unable to adequately look after disabled passengers and their equipment.

It comes after Ms Morgan was left on an empty plane at Heathrow airport for hours and her wheelchair was returned from the hold broken.

On Instagram, Ms Morgan said: “someone - no one took responsibility - decided to attach my wheelchair and my batec (batter-powered attachment) whilst in transit (they were checked in separately, in tow parts, unattached) and they have done so a) without permission and b) COMPLETELY WRONG).”

It then took over half an hour for airline staff to “break them apart”, but Ms Morgan said that they had unscrewed so much of it that her wheelchair was “unsafe to use.”

She said: “Enough is enough. This is a short-term solution to an ongoing problem and the beginning of a long journey towards a whole system overhaul of the entire airline industry. Disabled people need to be able to have the confidence to trust air travel. And this campaign is the first step for that. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for our experiences to match those of non-disabled people. How many more people need to get hurt, lose vital mobility equipment or even die before we see change?”

Ms Morgan is calling for legislation that would see the CAA impose fines on airlines and/or others who:

• Damage wheelchairs or essential mobility devices
• Leave Disabled passengers on flights for a prolonged period once the flight has landed
• Fail to provide adequate assistance despite prior knowledge of Disabled passengers needs

A letter from MP Marion Fellows, who serves as the SNP spokesperson for Disabilities, asks the Prime Minister for the CAA to have greater powers to combat recurring accessibility issues for disabled people on aircraft.

The letter calls for the CAA to impose fines as a tangible short-term goal, as last year’s Aviation Consumer Policy Reform consultation has considered granting additional powers to the CAA, including fines.

It says: "The CAA’s current regime of oversight for accessible air travel is limited and ineffective in holding airlines and/or other actors to account when such issues arise, charters and codes of conduct would not work."

It adds: "Over the past year, the issue has been in the spotlight in the media with high-profile cases, such as those of Sophie Morgan, Tanni Grey-Thompson and Frank Gardner, where Disabled passengers have had their mobility devices damaged, or been left stranded on an aircraft.

"These publicised cases merely constitute the tip of the iceberg, and these issues are endemic within the aviation industry, with Disabled passengers regularly suffering degrading substandard treatment at the hands of airlines or other actors."

The letter says how the government has made a commitment to "make sure that they (Disabled people) are able to travel easily, confidently and without extra cost" - but disabled passengers are unable to travel with ease and often face additional costs.

Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at Disability Rights UK said: “ The experience of air travel for thousands of Disabled people is truly appalling. We don’t get appropriate and timely passenger assistance despite booking it , we get left on planes when all other passengers have disembarked -  not knowing when assistance will arrive, and our wheelchairs and other mobility aids are far too often damaged.

“It is great that disabled people in the public eye are speaking out about their poor flying experiences and  asking that urgent action be taken by the Civil Aviation Authority, airports, airlines and others, to put things right. Disabled airline passengers should expect and receive high standards of customer care as the norm.”