Ken Harrower, who was flying out of Calgary bound for Toronto, said he was approached by the flight’s pilot prior to boarding and told that he could not board the flight with his power chair because of the batteries it uses.
“[He] asked me … ‘can the batteries be disconnected?’ I told him no. And then … he said I am a dangerous threat, then he walked away and left us high and dry,” said Harrower.
Harrower said Porter attendants proceeded to book him onto another flight to Toronto on Monday morning, leaving him to believe the decision to not let him board was one made independently by the pilot.
“I believe that all airlines need to have a clear policy about power chairs and handicap people and not leave it up to the pilot,” said Harrower.
“I felt I was being discriminated against because I’m in a chair. My power chair is my legs, its is how I get around. I cannot stand, I cannot walk, so I have to have [it].”
In a statement to CBC News, Porter said the situation was a case of human error by the pilot.
“The captain who made the decision to deny boarding did so based on his knowledge of Transport Canada regulations related to batteries. While there are some circumstances that batteries need to be fully removed from wheelchairs, it was not required in this situation.”