Craig Nolan allegedly forced off Qatar Airways flight

A disabled man who alleges he was kicked off a Qatar Airways flight due to discrimination is still stuck in Victoria and considering legal action against the controversial airline.

Craig Nolan at the airport. Picture: supplied

A disabled man who alleges he was kicked off a Qatar Airways flight due to discrimination is still stuck in Victoria and considering legal action against the controversial airline.

Craig Nolan is now contending with high Christmas airfares as he battles to return home to Europe.

The Geelong-born man boarded a plane in Melbourne on December 5 to start the journey home to Finland, where he now lives.

Mr Nolan, who has spina bifida and requires a wheelchair, said the airline had given varying reasons for why he was removed from the flight, including not enough information about his needs.

“Forcing me off the plane has prevented me from accessing medical supplies that are waiting for me in Finland,” Mr Nolan said.

“This has been very stressful and I’ve spent considerable time chasing and testing alternative medical supplies that have been difficult to find here.

“The stress of running around chasing the airline for answers and chasing the medical supplies has caused my immune system to get run down – I haven’t had a voice for most of this week and I feel absolutely rubbish.”

A GoFundMe page has been established to support Mr Nolan.

He last held discussions with Qatar Airways on Friday last week and after a partial refund, received the full amount on Tuesday, he said.

Mr Nolan, who said he had to pay for several nights in hotels, is now with family in Geelong.

When he checked in he clearly stated he was travelling alone, he said.

“They asked my relative with me at the time if she was travelling and we responded clearly no,” he said.

“I was so proactive making sure they had me registered as a disabled traveller with access needs.

“Then once on the plane, I was making sure they had clarity that all I needed was the aisle chair on-board to be pushed to and from the toilet.

“No one at Qatar is willing to apologise to me for what happened and the huge amount of stress that I’ve had to go through.”

He said the way he had been treated highlights the need for disability awareness and non-discrimination training for all employees.

Qatar Airways has been contacted for comment.

Disabled man alleges he was kicked off flight

A Geelong-born man alleges he was forced off a Qatar Airways flight home to Finland and stranded at Melbourne airport due to his disability.

Craig Nolan uses a wheelchair due to spina bifida — a birth defect where the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly.

The 43-year-old returned to Australia in September for a family funeral and was due to return to Finland, where he resides with his partner and has lived for 14 years, on Monday.

Mr Nolan, who is permanently disabled, said he went to the airport gate and was transferred to an ‘aisle chair’ – a smaller wheelchair used on planes that can’t be pushed independently.

He said airline staff would usually take him to and from the bathroom in the aisle chair during flights.

Mr Nolan was set to fly to Doha and then Helsinki.

But before takeoff he said a steward came to him and he confirmed he would need to be pushed to and from the bathroom.

Mr Nolan alleges that afterwards another staff member approached him and told him he had to leave the flight.

He said airline staff told him he was taken off the plane due to being a disabled solo traveller.

Mr Nolan, an experienced traveller and former international table tennis player, said he had never experienced this before.

It was hist first time on Qatar Airways.

He said he believed staff had incorrectly assumed he required help in the bathroom – not just getting there.

“I think people are afraid to ask questions,” he said.

“It’s clearly discrimination.”

He said the situation left him frustrated, and there needed to be more training and awareness around travelling for people with disability.

Mr Nolan has been staying at a Melbourne airport hotel for two nights and praised airport staff for their assistance.

The airport covered one of the nights, while Qatar Airways agreed to supply the other, he said.

He said he was still waiting on a full refund from Qatar Airways as of Wednesday morning, and had not booked another flight home yet.

“I certainly won’t be flying with them again,” he said.

Qatar Airways has been contacted for comment.

In October 2020, a number of Australian women were hauled off a flight by armed guards and subjected to invasive examinations, after a newborn baby was found abandoned in a bin at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

Several women are taking legal action against the state-owned airline and government agency Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.

Originally published as Craig Nolan allegedly forced off Qatar Airways flight