Jetstar refuses to fly disabled pensioner after deeming him 'too heavy'
A NSW pensioner with a disability was stuck in a Melbourne hotel room for five days with no way to get home after Jetstar refused his return flight because he was “too heavy”.
Ian Smith flew Jetstar from Ballina to Sydney three weeks ago for a Fijiian cruise. He then flew the same airline to Melbourne.
Staff helped lift the wheelchair-bound man into his seat, but when he tried to return home last Friday the airline refused to take him.
The bizarre airline backflip left the 67-year-old stranded 1200 kilometres away from his Lismore home and described the experience as “bloody traumatic”.
“I’m gutted. I’m totally gutted,” the tearful passenger told 7 News.
“They treat me like an idiot and I’m not an idiot. I’m disabled, but I’m still a human being.”
The father of two has been in a wheelchair for 15 years, but he has never felt this low.
“They couldn’t even give us a distinct reason as to why he would be denied boarding,” his son, David, said.
Finally they confirmed the man’s weight was the issue, saying he was too heavy for transfer by the airline’s wheelchair.
Mr Smith, who served as a police officer for 29 years before a stroke forced his retirement, is still proudly independent despite being wheelchair-bound.
He often takes trips to see family in Melbourne but said this experience has “wiped out what should have been my annual holiday”.
Jetstar issued a statement to 7News apologising to Mr Smith.
The airline conceded it was inconsistent and explained when staff helped lift him into his seat on recent flights, they were breaching company policy and it should not have happened.
After 7News intervened, the pensioner was finally flown home on Wednesday by Jetstar’s sister airline Qantas, which had a hoist to help him to his seat.
Mr Smith vowed he would never fly Jetstar again and urged the carrier to “lift your game”.
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