"Climbed by Crawling" Canadian Airline 'Neglects' Athlete with Paralympic Experience

Controversy Over WestJet Airlines' Discrimination Against Disabled Passengers in Canada
Olympic Athlete Crawled Barehanded on the Floor

A Canadian airline, criticized for its lack of consideration for passengers with disabilities, is now embroiled in controversy for failing to provide proper service to a female athlete with a history of competing in the Paralympics.

Sarah Morris Probert crawling up the aircraft boarding stairs with her body.
[Photo by CTV]

According to major foreign media reports on the 21st (local time), on the 18th, at the runway of Cabo San Lucas airport, a Mexican resort, a female passenger with a disability who was about to board a WestJet aircraft was refused a request for a wheelchair-accessible boarding bridge, leading to a scene where she climbed the boarding stairs using her body.

Sara Morris Probert, who lives in Kelowna, an inland city in British Columbia (BC), had just finished a long vacation in Mexico and was on her way home when she arrived at the airport but was unable to use the wheelchair-accessible boarding bridge due to the airline's neglect.

The airline rejected Morris's request to move the bridge to the front of the aircraft and instead proposed that two staff members seat her in an aircraft wheelchair and lift her up the boarding stairs. However, Morris could not accept this offer because she felt anxious and scared. The aircraft wheelchair was originally heavy, and she felt the method was unsafe.

When the airline insisted that boarding was impossible by any other means, she climbed the boarding stairs using her body. Probert then turned her body backward and used her hips and arms to crawl upside down onto the aircraft. Meanwhile, other passengers watched from the bus on the runway as she crawled onto the plane.

Morris recalled, "The metal stairs were dirty, and the stares directed at me were uncomfortable," adding, "It was humiliating, hurt my pride, and was disgusting." Probert is a former Canadian representative athlete who competed in the Paralympics.

Previously, the Canadian airline faced criticism for mistreatment of disabled passengers in August. Another Canadian-based airline, Air Canada, also drew widespread criticism for similar issues. In August, global outrage erupted after Rodney Hodgins, a person with cerebral palsy, revealed that he was not provided with an onboard wheelchair and had to crawl down the aisle while disembarking.

Another victim, Ryan Lachance, said that in May he was refused the use of an electric mobility device for disabled passengers and was dropped onto the aisle floor when staff tried to move him using a wheelchair. It reportedly took him an hour and a half to leave the aircraft and exit the airport. After returning home, Lachance said he had to spend three days bedridden.

WestJet expressed regret in a statement, saying they should have provided Morris with a boarding bridge and "understand the situation and sincerely apologize." However, they explained that due to circumstances preventing the use of the bridge, they offered an alternative, which Morris refused.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.