Disabled Woman Has to Drag Herself to Airplane Toilet after Flight Attendant Refuses to Help

A disabled traveler and content creator was looking forward to enjoying another holiday trip when things suddenly went south. First, she had to deal with delays and a transferred flight, and then she barely managed to get into her seat on the plane. But the biggest disappointment came soon after.

Traveling is an extraordinary experience that enables people to unwind, expand their horizons, and see the world's marvels with their own eyes. If you're a true hodophile at heart, you'll be familiar with the sudden urge to pack your bags and hop on a plane, bus, or your preferred mode of transportation.

While everyone wishes to enjoy their trip and create precious and timeless memories, unfortunately, it doesn't always happen. Despite our best efforts and heartfelt intentions, some of our most anticipated journeys can become a complete nightmare, which happened in today's story.

A Travel Blogger & Content Creator

Jennie Berry, who identifies herself as a disabled travel blogger, divides her time between London and Hartlepool, England, UK. As her profile bio reads, she loves going around the world and often shares honest testimonials from her holidays on social media.

Jennie said she was offered no suggestions or alternative solutions.

An Unlikely Experience

Given her love and passion for traveling, Jennie is almost always ready for another adventure. However, in the fall of 2022, she had the most unlikely experience while flying from the UK to Greece.

It all began when she learned about her flight delay, after which came another piece of astonishing news—Jennie's flight had been transferred to Alba Star Airlines from TUI UK. But she wasn't done handling her fair share of surprises yet!

A Living Nightmare

Jennie would soon discover that the Spanish airline had only a few planes in its collection, lacking the necessary equipment to make a disabled traveler's flight comfortable. Since she's paralyzed from the waist down, she always uses a wheelchair.

When traveling by air, Jennie said she often sat in an aisle chair—the equivalent of a wheelchair in airplanes used to move disabled people. Unfortunately, her replacement airline's aircraft didn't have that facility, which soon turned Jennie's journey into a living nightmare.

The Unsupportive Staff

The blogger recalled that the Newcastle International Airport personnel refused to give her a seat near the front of the plane. Thus, she had to struggle with the terrifying ordeal of sitting in the middle row, and while the assistance staff understood her dilemma, she still had to live with it.

But the flight took a turn for the worst when Jennie felt the need to use the restroom. When she asked the airline crew if she could go to the toilet, they simply said, "No, we don't have an aisle chair onboard." Jennie said she was offered no suggestions or alternative solutions.

The Uncomfortable Trip to the Toilet

Not knowing what else to do, Jennie got down on the plane's floor and began dragging herself through the aisle. Passengers watched as the UK resident made her way down the aisle to the loo, with many offering her words of solace and support.

But Jennie said she received no help, support, or even the slightest bit of empathy from the flight crew. "When you've gotta go, you've gotta go," noted the Londoner, crediting her strong upper body for enabling her to drag down the long airplane aisle.

At one point, Jennie even held on to the drinks cart for support, but she shared that none of the staff members came to her aid and continued to serve the passengers. Eventually, she managed to reach the restroom, where her boyfriend, Owen, helped her sit on the toilet seat.

An Absurd Solution

After reaching the loo on her own, Jennie was baffled when the crew told her, "Disabled people should wear nappies on board." The distraught woman was shocked at the absurd solution she was given, which she said was equivalent to telling disabled folks to wet their seats.

"Hopefully, that solution doesn't result in any leaks," divulged Jennie, who was clearly upset at the bleak state of affairs for people like her. Although it was the first time for the globe-trotter not to have an aisle chair on the plane, the aircraft crew didn't consider it an issue.

Jennie claimed the airline staff told her they had never had any problem with disabled people having to wear diapers in their 27 years of service.

Capturing the Shocking Incident

Jennie's boyfriend, Owen, who captured his girlfriend's ordeal upon her request, was shocked by the staff's lack of support and assistance. When asked why Jennie filmed the incident, she said she wished to share it with the world and shine a light on how people with disabilities were treated.

The woman revealed she even had difficulty using the loo because the toilet seat was too small. After she came out of the restroom, a kind family offered her their seat at the front, so she wouldn't have to go through the pain of dragging herself back.

Embarrassed & Humiliated

As someone who always took pride in being different from others, Jennie had been through tough times too. It wasn't hard to guess that her trip from the UK to Greece made her feel embarrassed, degraded, and hurt for all the wrong reasons.

Being told by the staff that she should wear a diaper wounded her sentiments and made her feel humiliated before the other passengers. Thus, Jennie wished to raise her voice for all the disabled persons who had been through similar situations and feared speaking up.

Raising Her Voice

As an avid traveler, Jennie called for making traveling a smooth, hassle-free, and comfortable experience for disabled people. She also shed light on what would have happened if she didn't have the strength to drag herself across the airplane floor to the toilet.

Jennie didn't want other people like her to have the only two options she did: pee in their seats or drag herself down the aisle. As an advocate for disabled people, she wished to see a positive change in the travel industry, where staff members didn't offer bleak directives.

Sharing Her Thoughts

In October 2022, Jennie appeared on "Good Morning Britain," sharing her experience and discussing poor accessibility and unfair treatment of disabled folks. She also revealed how the airline staff put all the blame on her boyfriend:

"The CEO himself proved my points perfectly when stating that my partner should have dragged me down the aisle to the toilet instead of filming me. Are we worth so little, that we should be dragged to a toilet like animals - rather than simply owning up that it's not good enough and providing accessible equipment like most other airlines do?"

Jennie thanked her supporters for their love and encouragement and vowed to advocate for the disabled community in hopes of seeing things change for the better.