Disabled Man’s Holiday “Ruined” After £20k Wheelchair Damaged on EasyJet Flight

Nathan Rollinson, a disabled man, reported that his vacation was “ruined” following damage to his custom-made £20,000 wheelchair during an EasyJet flight. The damage occurred on 29 November, when he traveled from Gatwick Airport in West Sussex to Munich, Germany, because the wheelchair was reportedly not secured in the luggage hold and moved freely throughout the journey. Mr. Rollinson, a London resident, conveyed to BBC Radio Sussex, “I was independent but now I don’t have the chair, I can’t walk my dog or even do jobs around the house.” An EasyJet representative stated, “We are very sorry for the damage caused to Mr Rollinson’s wheelchair.” Upon his arrival in Germany, Mr. Rollinson’s wheelchair became immobilized at Munich airport due to a broken wheel sustained during the flight, necessitating him to leave it behind. He recounted a wait of approximately 90 minutes for assistance to disembark the aircraft when his return flight touched down at Gatwick at 01:50 GMT on 1 December. Subsequently, an EasyJet disruption team member informed him that a taxi was unavailable, leading to him being accommodated in an airport hotel. He was able to return home later that day after EasyJet ultimately covered the cost of a taxi. Nevertheless, Mr. Rollinson’s wheelchair remains at Gatwick, and he had to depart the airport utilizing a child-sized wheelchair. Mr. Rollinson commented, “It is an ongoing battle.” He further explained, “I handed my wheelchair over at the gate at Gatwick when flying. When I’d landed, they thought my chair my lost but they found it, unfortunately broken and unusable.” He added, “Mine and my friend’s trip was ruined. They had to push me around and I now have bad ribs.” EasyJet, having acknowledged responsibility, stated: “We know how important it is for customers to feel confident that items like this will be well cared for, so we are looking into this with our ground handling partners to ensure learnings can be taken onboard. Our team arranged a temporary replacement chair for Mr Rollinson for the duration of his trip and we are in touch with him to ensure that any expenses he has incurred as a result are covered.”