A low-cost airline removed a 9-year-old child in a wheelchair from a plane at “Vasil Levski” Airport - Sofia. This was reported by the Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov, who ordered an investigation into the case.
“I received information about another scandalous incident at “Vasil Levski” Airport today. A Bulgarian family with a 9-year-old child with limited mobility chose to travel to Toulouse via Bergamo on a Ryanair flight. The family was put on board the plane, and then taken off on the pilot's orders on the grounds that the child's stroller did not meet safety standards because of the battery.
As a father, I am deeply shocked by the pilot's inhumane act towards the child. As the flight commander, he has the right to request the removal of a passenger and his wheelchair, because they could endanger the flight. He wrote in his own handwriting in the protocol that the battery terminals "cannot be isolated". However, the facts known so far say otherwise - the stroller is marked with a factory sticker that it is suitable for transport by plane and, according to the parents, the child has flown with it more than once. And, a cursory check of its technical data and Ryanair's general terms and conditions show that it meets the carrier's requirements... Thanks to the management of "Vasil Levski" Airport, the family will still fly tonight, and for free, to Toulouse. And Lufthansa said YES to the wheelchair, i.e. it is fit to fly on an airplane… Of course, there should be no compromise with flight safety! But for me it is becoming increasingly doubtful whether the battery is really dangerous for the flight! That is why I have assigned the Civil Aviation Administration to check the case, including contacting the family, to find out what the truth is. If the pilot's assessment turns out to be wrong - I will send all the collected materials to the Commission for Protection against Discrimination”, the relevant minister wrote in a post on his Facebook profile.