Jetstar apology welcome and needed, says Kurt Fearnley

KURT Fearnley says he's optimistic about Jetstar's apology after making him check in his wheelchair and instead use a "trolley" they offered.

PARALYMPIAN Kurt Fearnley says he's optimistic about Jetstar's apology after making him check in his personal wheelchair and instead use the "trolley" they offered him.

An airline representative told him on Tuesday the company is now working on an alternative boarding procedure for disabled passengers after he criticised their staff upon his successful return from the Kokoda Track.

"They are busy working out an alternative procedure,'' Fearnley said.

"As long as that's going ahead, I'm more than happy.''

But he said he wouldn't be afraid of speaking out again if he sees airlines making the same mistake.

"I wouldn't hesitate to take this step again,'' he said.

"I need to pick my battles here. I'm exhausted. Kokoda has taken a very heavy toll. But I just want to see this one through.''

Jetstar's move comes a day after Fearnley, a wheelchair marathon champion, said he chose to crawl through Brisbane Airport rather than use an unsuitable chair offered by the airline.

He said the main issue was forcing disabled passengers to check in personal wheelchairs upon picking up their tickets instead of at the boarding gate.

The policy means wheelchair-bound passengers are stuck in chairs that can't be turned by the user, he said, but require a staff member to push them through security and to the boarding gate.

Fearnley said it was like forcing a wheelchair-bound person to lose their mobility all over again.

"I don't know how I can make it any clearer. This isn't a wheelchair,'' he said.

"It's more of a trolley than a wheelchair. I have no mobility at all. If that's a wheelchair, then a car is a wheelchair.''

He said he wouldn't have spoken out if he didn't feel strongly on the issue.

"At some point, they already lose their mobility, something they work hard at to get back (with a wheelchair). And then they lose the rest of it when they go to catch a plane.''

He added that Jetstar was the only airline he'd travelled on that required wheelchairs to be checked in before security clearance.

"This is not just me. This is about Jetstar and this is about doing it right. It may be bad publicity for a day but it only needs to be for one day.''

AAP