An Air Canada passenger with a disability has criticized the airline after “extremely argumentative” flight attendants informed her she would be unable to store her wheelchair within the cabin..Maayan Ziv — a disability activist and founder of AccessNow — posted a series of TikTok videos claiming her wheelchair was considered a “dangerous good” on her flights between Toronto and Austin..In the first video, Ziv said the storage area was taken by the attendant’s suitcase and purse. She adds that despite her wheelchair being broken during a previous flight, the attendant responded “well if it’s broken we’ll just pay for it.”.“I travel for work and so I’ve made a lot of adjustments to try and make travel a little safer and a little easier including travelling with a foldable power assist wheelchair that can have all batteries and power removed,” said Ziv..“It is specifically designed to fit in the closets on board the aircraft cabin.”.“It is really difficult for me to sit in and after some hours I have a lot of pain. It’s not easy, but I’m doing this all to make it easier to travel and prevent some of the damage I faced in the past.”.“On my most recent flights to and from Austin, I faced extremely argumentative flight attendants who basically would not have it. They did not want to store my wheelchair in the cabin, and weren’t informed on the laws that actually state that wheelchairs like this one actually take priority when travelling to and from the US,” Ziv added..She continued to say that the stress and fatigue had caused her to have “major brain fog” to the extent that she could not remember where she was upon arrival at customs..According to the Justice Laws website, an airline must make provisions to the assist a passenger with a disability, including removing any cargo and baggage from storage..However, an airline can also refuse to transfer a mobility aid if “the baggage compartment is not large enough to accommodate the mobility aid.”.Air Canada has been contacted for comment.
