Travelers and advocates say a rule at WestJet Airlines that bars some power wheelchairs from most of its planes discriminates against people living with a disability.
The Calgary-based airline states on its website that mobility aids are capped at 300 kilos for the overwhelming majority of its aircraft, a limit that rules out many power wheelchairs.
After flying with WestJet for years, Manitoba resident and former MP Steven Fletcher says an airline agent told him they’d not find a way to hold his wheelchair on a flight from Winnipeg to Toronto last February because of its weight.
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He says he was forced to make use of a special wheelchair, causing pain and pressure sores that required medical attention.
WestJet says it landed on the 136kg (300lbs) limit last yr after an engineering evaluation and that accessibility regulations allow it to refuse transport of heavier mobility aids.
Global News
In a response to a regulatory grievance filed by Fletcher, WestJet says it landed on the 300-pound limit last yr after an engineering evaluation and that accessibility regulations allow it to refuse transport of heavier mobility aids.
ARCH Disability Law Centre lawyer Devin Glim says the load limit effectively denies access to air travel for many custom power wheelchair users, with advocates noting that no other major North American airline maintains such a low cap for jets.
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