A former Minister of Transportation has spoken up about WestJet, questioning whether "WestJet hates people with disabilities?' Steven Fletcher, who previously served as the Minister of Transportation from 2011 to 2013, has written an article bashing the airline for not allowing his power wheelchair, which weighs more than 300 pounds, to board WestJet planes.In February 2025, Fletcher was told his power wheelchair would not be accepted on a WestJet Boeing 737 due to an internal “300 lb. limit.” Fletcher states he has flown on the same aircraft for decades without issues and that the new restriction contradicts both his past experience and manufacturer capabilities..WestJet has defended the rule as necessary for "safety and operational reasons."Fletcher disputes that explanation, arguing that Boeing 737s can accommodate heavier loads and that WestJet has transported his wheelchair “hundreds of times” in previous years.He filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), stating, "I assumed it would be straightforward: WestJet had created an arbitrary barrier, the law is clear, and the CTA had already ruled on an almost identical situation in an earlier case called Air Canada v. Rose."In this case, the CTA ordered Air Canada to accommodate a power wheelchair despite cargo-door concernsHowever, Fletcher states WestJet "doubled down" bringing an external law firm and delaying confronting this complaint with "extensions, procedural manoeuvres, and strategic silences.".They did this for nine months, doing "anything to avoid confronting the obvious: their 300-lb limit isn’t real."In the complaint, Fletcher stated WestJet was "unable to point to any engineering specifications, manufacturer limits, or regulatory requirements supporting this restriction."Fletcher argues this is a bigger issue in Canada as a whole, stating, "Accessibility is still treated as optional."He cites inaccessible housing, transit systems, and public buildings, including parts of the Parliamentary precinct and the Manitoba Legislature. He warns that if WestJet’s policy stands, other airlines may adopt similar restrictions, reversing progress for Canadians with disabilities..CBC reported another case where a Saskatoon family was refused boarding due to the weight of their daughter's wheelchair.Georgia Natraj, a 14-year-old girl, had previously flown using Westjet with her same wheelchair. Natraj must use her 440-lb wheelchair with special features designed to help ease tension in her muscles and spine because of her spinal atrophy. Her parents were told by WestJet that their daughter's wheelchair was too heavy for their smaller planes and was unsafe for staff to handle..However, Natraj's parents were confused, since the airline used to offer discounts for travellers with disabilities.“As recently as eight months ago, we were flying out of WestJet Saskatoon with Georgia’s chair,” stated Natraj's father, Richard Natraj. WestJet said in a statement the rules were made public in June 2024 — but were in place since 2023.Georgia has previously travelled with the same chair this past April.
