As a frequent speaker and flier the following article probably would have never caught my attention had I been in Pretoria reading the newspaper yesterday. I may have paused for a moment wondering why an editor would think such an everyday occurrence as being left behind on an airplane without bathroom access or having your wheelchair lost or destroyed was newsworthy. It is helpful to have non-disabled friends who remind me that such things are not their experience:
A disabled Pretoria man was left on a South African Airways aircraft for more than an hour at OR Tambo International Airport while he waited for Swissport to provide a passenger aid unit (PAU) so he could disembark.In that time the man, who does not want to be named, needed the toilet, had to insert a catheter to relieve himself and, after disembarking he and airport officials searched for a further two hours to find his wheelchair.