Qantas staffer accused of threatening to call AFP on wheelchair user

A wheelchair user says a Qantas worker threatened to call Federal Police on him during an incident at Gold Coast Airport. Here’s what happened.

A wheelchair user has lodged a complaint against Qantas alleging “physical and emotional” abuse after a worker allegedly threatened to call the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on him during an incident at Gold Coast Airport.

Mark Hunter was trying to exit a flight from Sydney on October 6 when he was told by a member of ground staff he could not use his own wheelchair to disembark the plane, despite using it without incident when boarding.

“Even though I told them that I was able to bring my chair, he said something like ‘oh your chair won’t fit’,” Mr Hunter said.

“I said I used it to get on the plane in Sydney and that’s when he threatened me with the Federal Police.”

The Helensvale resident said he suffered injuries to his back and shoulder when he was forced to use a wheelchair provided by the airline.

“I had to transfer from my chair, over the business class arm, which is a lot higher than normal ones, down to the aisle chair, which I partially fell into, because there was nothing to hang on to, doing physical damage to both my shoulder and my back,” Mr Hunter said.

“And then my foot got caught when I was in the aisle chair, because it’s a crappy design, so my good foot – because I’ve got a good leg and a bad leg – got caught. And I couldn’t get it out.

“I finally got that unhooked without breaking it and he took me down the ramp and about half way down the ramp I realised my foot was dragging along the floor, along the bottom of the ramp.

“ ... It could have been quite serious. I’ve been to the doctor and I’ve got the medical side of it recorded.

“And I’ve put in a complaint for both physical and emotional abuse.”

Mark Hunter at his Helensvale home. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The incident came after Mr Hunter’s flight from Sydney had been delayed for three and a half hours, only arriving at Coolangatta at 10.50pm.

A Qantas spokesperson told the Bulletin Mr Hunter’s wheelchair was “too large” to fit on the ramp, but declined to answer questions regarding why the flight had been delayed or his claim that he had been threatened the AFP would be called.

“Unfortunately, Mr Hunter’s wheelchair was too large to fit on the ramp used to disembark the aircraft at Gold Coast Airport, so he was asked to transfer to another wheelchair,” the spokesperson said.

“We understand the challenges customers in wheelchairs face when travelling and provide additional care and assistance to make their journey as smooth as possible.”

The Hon Ronald Sackville AO. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The incident comes in the wake of a similar case on October 4, when renowned Gold Coast doctor Dinesh Palipana was tipped out of his wheelchair by Virgin Australia staff at Brisbane Airport.

Disability Royal Commission chair Ronald Sackville KC wrote to Australian airline and airport CEOs earlier this year outlining concerns people with disabilities had reported while travelling.

“The experiences of people with disability include damage to wheelchairs not rectified by airlines, being dropped on the floor because the hoist that accommodates wheelchairs is not used correctly, limited access to safe ramps and discrimination against people who rely on assistance dogs,” Mr Sackville said.

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