A disability advocate says he was forced to take a 14-hour train journey home after an airline was unable to meet his accessibility needs on a flight.
Mark Pietsch, who has a muscular skeletal movement disorder as well as arthritis, said he paid for two seats and extra legroom on his Qantas flights between Sydney and Melbourne to attend a disability conference in 2025.
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In its submission to a government consultation for aviation disability standards, Physical Disability Australia said industry guidance – in place since 2002 – was largely ignored.
As a result, people with disability regularly report being dropped during transfers, having their wheelchairs destroyed or being told they could not fly at all, the peak body said.
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Advocates and legal groups have previously called for changes to Australian laws, which currently mean mobility aids are considered baggage.
“Disability aids are not a subset of baggage. They are essential to mobility and independence,” Justice and Equity Centre lawyer Sheetal Balakrishnan told a senate inquiry in May.
