Virgin sorry for making disabled man stand

Virgin sorry for making disabled man stand
By admin


Virgin Australia has apologised to a disabled passenger who had to stand during a three hour flight from Perth to Brisbane.

Virgin says it sincerely apologises for any discomfort experienced by Tasmanian man Sam Cawthorne, who has a fused leg and prosthetic arm.

Cawthorne told News Corp Australia he was given no choice but to stand between take off and landing during the flight last Friday, although he claims there were many other suitable seats.

Virgin says it wasn't able to better accommodate Mr Cawthorn because he was not listed as requiring special assistance.

"Virgin Australia sincerely apologises for any discomfort experienced by Mr Cawthorn on his recent flight," an airline spokesman said.

"We take the comfort and safety of all guests very seriously and we ask guests that require special assistance to provide the information when booking to enable us to accommodate these requests.

"Unfortunately this information was not provided in advance and therefore while our crew endeavoured to assist Mr Cawthorn within safety policies and procedures, we were unable to meet his requests on this occasion."

It's not the first time a budget airline has been accused of shoddy treatment of a disabled passenger.

In 2009 Jetstar apologised after Paralympian Kurt Fearnley was forced to crawly through an airport because he was refused permission to use his own wheelchair.

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