DUBLIN Airport has apologised to an Irish Paralympian whose custom-made wheelchair was carelessly damaged as he made his way to Tokyo for the Games.
Swimmer Patrick Flanagan flew into London before hopping on a connecting flight to Japan, but after landing in Heathrow, he noticed his wheelchair had been broken during the initial journey.
"Yesterday, I landed in London Heathrow at the halfway point on my journey to Tokyo for the Paralympic Games," he tweeted.
"When the plane landed I was given my wheelchair back, except it was completely broken.
"My chair was destroyed. My chair is my independence and to be left in an over-sized airport chair is degrading.
"This is not something that can happen to wheelchair users. It's unacceptable," he wrote.
Yday, I landed in Heathrow on my way to Tokyo for the Paralympic Games. My chair was destroyed. My chair is my independence and to be left in an over sized airport chair is degrading. #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/3JfEwnaciZ
— Patrick Flanagan (@PatrickFlan) August 14, 2021
Apologies. Of course we did not intend or mean to cause offence by referring to a wheelchair as baggage and we sincerely regret that.
We have reached out to Patrick and will follow up directly with him.— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) August 14, 2021
Dublin Airport responded to Patrick, saying: "So very sorry to hear this. Your airline is best placed to respond as it (or its nominated handling agent) is responsible for handling your baggage."
However, they swiftly deleted the tweet, and posted another one saying they didn't mean to cause any offence to Patrick by referring to his wheelchair as 'baggage'.
"Apologies. Of course we did not mean to cause offence by referring to a wheelchair as baggage and we sincerely regret that. We have reached out to Patrick and will follow up directly with him."
As it turns out, the incident occurred while Patrick was on a flight from Spain to London, but it's nice to know that Dublin Airport was willing to try and resolve the situation anyway.
The athlete tweeted later that day that he was getting an old chair flown out to him, but lamented that "not all wheelchair users are lucky enough to have a spare".
"The point remains the same, this should never happen!"
Thanks to everyone for reaching out this morning. Luckily I’m getting an older chair flown out today. But not all wheelchair users are lucky enough to have a spare. The point remains the same, this should never happen!
For now, #Tokyo we are coming 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/ua4f41aq68— Patrick Flanagan (@PatrickFlan) August 14, 2021
