An Australian woman was humiliated on her flight after she was denied complimentary service of a wheelchair and was forced to crawl her way off the plane. Talking about the incident, the poor woman states that she has been in a wheelchair since high school and she had 'never felt so degraded in her life'.
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Natalie Curtis, an Australian passenger was on a Jetstar flight to Thailand when she faced an incident that left her humiliated and traumatized for life. The poor woman was forced to crawl off the plane, as she claimed that the staff refused to arrange a wheelchair for her unless she paid extra.
The woman says she was offered a special wheelchair that fits in plane aisles when boarding her flight from Singapore to Bangkok.
However, when she landed in Bangkok, she required the same service but was told that she needs to pay extra to avail of the service.
Ms Curtis says she was with her friend Natasha Elford, who said she was unable to carry her as she had an injured knee, with footage showing her having to crawl her way off the plane.
'I didn't really comprehend it (being charged for the wheelchair) and I was like, 'No, I'm not paying to be able to get off this plane',' Ms Curtis told Sunrise on Monday.
'It was extremely humiliating.'
Ms Curtis has been in a wheelchair since high school and said she had 'never felt so degraded in her life'.
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Ms Elford says that she was horrified by the whole incident and felt ashamed for how her friend was mistreated.
'I couldn't physically lift her so I felt really hopeless and I couldn't believe this was really happening.' Ms Elford said.
The pair says that they made an attempt to find if a complimentary wheelchair could be fast-tracked to them but claimed the flight staff 'stood around and watched and didn't really do anything'.
The airline offered Ms Curtis a full refund, additional compensation and apologised for her experience.
'We unreservedly apologise to Ms Curtis for her recent experience while travelling with us,' they said.
'We are committed to providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for all our customers, including those requiring specific assistance.'
In the wake of this incident, the airline also says that it was not their policy to charge for using a wheelchair to board or disembark from their planes.
Jetstar was investigating the incident as a 'matter of urgency' and said initial inquiries indicated her special requirement for a wheelchair upon landing was not requested in their system.
The airline added that the standard complimentary wheelchair was being arranged 'ad-hoc' on landing but there was a significant delay.
Ms Curtis and Ms Elford are speaking up to ensure their experience does not happen to anyone else.