A Canadian blogger who regularly posts about her travels as a wheelchair user on social media is speaking out after being carried off an Air Canada flight in what she describes as a "terrifying" ordeal. A few days ago, Tori Hunter posted a video on Instagram of her disembarking the flight with the help of staff at an airport in Costa Rica. In the clip, she seemed visibly distressed while being carried down the steps in a "broken" aisle chair. The chair is also angled sideways during the steep descent and her father is seen keeping his hand on her face, trying to hold her upright.
"This is me, being carried down a flight of stairs in a broken aisle chair - no armrests, straps that wouldn't tighten enough to keep my body in, and front wheels that were busted off. You can see from my face how distraught and absolutely terrified I was. The individuals that were sent to help me disembark this plane likely had very little training on how to do so; they kept having to place the chair down from not having the correct grip, and they were holding the chair completely sideways (hence my dad trying his best to hold my head so it didn't completely fall over)," Ms Hunter wrote in the caption of the post.
"Never in my life have I felt so out of control and so disconnected from my body. I was never informed that this would be how I would have to disembark the plane," the travel blogger added.
Ms Hunter wrote that being carried off the plane wasn't a possibility she ever considered since airports use jet bridges, which are enclosed, movable connectors that extend from the airport terminal gate to an aircraft. "In fact, all of the other planes around us were pulled up to them," she added.
The Canadian blogger said that she loves sharing her travels as a wheelchair user. But she added that this was one of the instances where travelling with a disability is "unfortunately" not so glamorous. "It's 2024, disabled people deserve a more dignified and safe way to fly," Ms Hunter concluded.
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Separately, speaking to the BBC, Ms Hunter said she had provided information about her situation, several months in advance. "If the airline and the airport had more open lines of communication, then they could have ensured that we were parked at a jet bridge or that a ramp or hydraulic lift was available," she said.
Air Canada, on the other hand, said the airport was unable to provide an aircraft bridge so they had to use an alternative method. All protocols for helping customers with disabilities were followed, it said.
"However, as part of our accessibility plan, we will be reviewing airport procedures, including for smaller foreign stations, with the aim of working with local airport and other partners to find ways to provide more consistent service," the airlines told the outlet.
Ms Hunter's video on social media has accumulated more than 27 million views.
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