Disabled passenger left stranded on plane for hours forced to call police to be rescued
31.05.2022 - 19:13
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A disabled passenger was left with no choice but to call the police after a three-and-a-half hour struggle to leave a chaos-hit airport in the early hours.
Daryl Tavernor, who has spinal muscular atrophy, eventually made it back to the UK after his delayed flight from Rome touched down at Manchester Airport at 2.30am.
However, the 33-year-old was then abandoned for two hours waiting for special assistance to help him off the plane.
Once in the airport, the digital marketer says he was left stranded at border control for another 90 minutes, at which point he called the police.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Daryl said: "I felt like I was being held hostage so I had no other option but to call the police".
He added: "All the other passengers were able to get off the plane as quickly as they could. It usually only takes around 10 to 15 minutes for special assistance to get me off the plane. But it was just me and the crew and captain stuck for another two hours.
"The captain got so annoyed he went to find special assistance himself. I was told they didn't come straight away as they don't usually have planes landing at this time, but they can't plead ignorance, the captain would have told them everything on our way.
"At this point I've been on the plane for five-and-a-half hours, I was extremely uncomfortable and just wanted to be in my chair. The person they sent for me really struggled to get me off the plane, I'm not a heavy guy but this person really struggled."
Daryl, of Stoke-on-Trent, requires special assistance to get him off the plane, and into his wheelchair which is kept in the hold during the flight on May 26.
After landing, passengers were quickly let off the flight while Daryl started his wait for special