Qantas passenger hits out over hidden travel frustration for thousands of Aussies: 'So common'

Yahoo

3 days ago

An Australian disability advocate is calling for better, disability-led policies and systemic reforms to ensure disabled travellers are respected, and their mobility aids are properly handled, after her wheelchair was damaged for a third time by Qantas.
Melbourne woman Zoe Simmons, who lives with fibromyalgia, said she recently embarked on a round-trip to Tokyo from Melbourne with the national carrier, and when she was given back her wheelchair in Australia, it had sustained substantial damages.
She said it was handed back with warped metal, broken parts, and scratches that impacted its safety and usability. Zoe said that in 2021, a similar, though more severe incident occurred with Qantas, and again last year, though she didn't report the latter issue — the steering controller had broken off — over fears of being "laughed off".
Following her recent trip to Japan, Qantas did arrange for Zoe to get her wheelchair repaired through one of its partnered repair services, but she feels it's unfair that disabled passengers have to accept this as the norm — that they're expected to handle repairs themselves whenever their mobility aids are damaged during travel.
Zoe said she, and hundreds of thousands around the country, remain deeply frustrated at the energy it takes disabled passengers to continually advocate for repairs and recognition, often met with indifference or excuses from airline staff. "I just hate that it's so common, like what are they doing to our wheelchairs that causes metal to warp and break," Zoe told Yahoo News Australia.
"There are chunks out of the arm rests, the arm rests are very warped and are weirdly sitting now, they're also loose, the foot guard has chunks out of it, my wheel cover and my cup holder are also damaged, not to mention the scratches, and so on.
"Last time I flew with them, they broke my wheelchair controller off. And it was just laughed off! I didn't have the energy to fight for such a small thing then."
Zoe said that after discovering damage to her wheelchair, she had to explain her story to several airport staff who mostly responded with dismissive sympathy. When a manager eventually spoke with her, Zoe raised the issue of how the burden always falls on disabled people to advocate for themselves—something the manager denied, citing policies and procedures, without acknowledging how exhausting that constant advocacy is.
She criticised the way airlines treat wheelchairs like baggage instead of essential mobility aids, and called for stronger policies, better staff training, and public reporting on wheelchair damage. "Imagine if non-disabled people expected their legs to be broken every time they flew, if chunks came off," she said.
"What if your bones were warped? They need to stop treating wheelchairs like baggage and start respecting them for what they are."
Zoe highlighted that in the US, some 30 wheelchairs are damaged daily during flights, according to the US Department of Transportation, which began requiring airlines to report wheelchair and scooter damage in December, 2018.
Since then, monthly reports have consistently shown that an average of around 25–30 mobility devices are damaged each day across US domestic flights. But Australia lacks transparent recording or reporting of such incidents.
"It's just frustrating to have sat in the Disability Royal Commission several years ago, and we're talking about this. While things are improving, they aren't improving fast enough," she said. "We need disability-led policy and procedural reforms, and to ensure everyone has access to repairs, not just people who can be the squeaky wheel."
In a letter given to Zoe by Qantas, seen by Yahoo, a representative asked her to take her "damaged bag" to an authorised repairer. "If this is not convenient, please forward a quote for the repair with this letter to your nearest Qantas office for review," it said.
Speaking to Yahoo on Wednesday, a Qantas spokesperson "sincerely apologised" for the ordeal.
"We sincerely apologise to Ms Simmons for the damage caused to her wheelchair. We know how critically important mobility aids are, and we are investigating how this damage occurred," they said.
"We are working closely with Ms Simmons to ensure the repairs are facilitated as soon as possible."
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After Yahoo's enquiries, Zoe said Qantas reached out to her again. She said their designated repairer doesn't service her type of wheelchair. "I then gave them the details of a repairer I know will work, but see all the hoops and onus and exhaustion here, when this stuff happens every day," she said
"I'm not mad for myself — I am mad for every disabled person who experiences this, in whatever way that might look like," she said. "I am not that angry about my chair. What I'm angry about is that this is what we are expected to put up with — and much, much worse — every time we fly."
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