‘Degraded’ passenger is forced to crawl off Jetstar plane after flight attendants with a ‘language barrier’ demanded she pay for a wheelchair
- Natalie Curtis was forced to crawl down the aisle to exit her Jetstar flight
- The Queensland woman has been in a wheelchair since high school
- She claimed flight staff told her she needed to pay in order to get a wheelchair
- Jetstar said this wasn’t the policy and language barrier caused the confusion
An Australian passenger on a Jetstar flight to Thailand has been left humiliated after she was forced to crawl off the plane, claiming staff wouldn’t get her a wheelchair unless she paid extra.
Natalie Curtis, from Queensland, said she was offered a special wheelchair that fits in plane aisles when boarding her flight from Singapore to Bangkok.
But when Ms Curtis landed in Bangkok and required the same service, she claims she was told she would need to pay if she wanted to be wheeled off the plane.
Ms Curtis was with her friend Natasha Elford, who said she was unable to carry her as she had an injured knee, with footage showing her having to crawl her way off the plane.
‘I didn’t really comprehend it (being charged for the wheelchair) and I was like, ‘No, I’m not paying to be able to get off this plane’,’ Ms Curtis told Sunrise on Monday.
‘It was extremely humiliating.’
Ms Curtis has been in a wheelchair since high school and said she had ‘never felt so degraded in her life’.
Ms Curtis was forced to crawl down the aisle to the plane’s exit after a ‘language barrier’ resulted in her not being offered a complimentary wheelchair (pictured)
She vented online after calling Jetstar and being told someone would call her back in a week
Ms Elford said she was shocked by the ordeal and felt mortified for her friend.
‘I couldn’t physically lift her so I felt really hopeless and I couldn’t believe this was really happening.’ Ms Elford said.
The pair said they tried to find out if a complimentary wheelchair could be fast-tracked to them but claimed the flight staff ‘stood around and watched and didn’t really do anything’.
The airline offered Ms Curtis a full refund, additional compensation and apologised for her experience.
‘We unreservedly apologise to Ms Curtis for her recent experience while travelling with us,’ they said.
‘We are committed to providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for all our customers, including those requiring specific assistance.’
Ms Curtis (pictured) from Queensland has been in a wheelchair since high school and said she had never been more embarrassed than the experience with Jetstar
The airline also said it was not their policy to charge for using a wheelchair to board or disembark from their planes.
Jetstar was investigating the incident as a ‘matter of urgency’ and said initial inquiries seemed to indicate it was a misunderstanding brought about by a language barrier.
Ms Curtis and Ms Elford are speaking up to ensure their experience does not happen to anyone else.
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