Heathrow says sorry after leaving disabled journalist stuck on plane for second time in six months
Heathrow Airport has apologised to a disabled BBC journalist after he was left stranded on an empty aircraft for a second time in six months.
Security correspondent Frank Gardner was trapped on the British Airways’ plane earlier this week when staff accidentally locked themselves in a lift meant to help him to the ground.
In the end, his wheelchair had to be dismantled and passed through the plane’s window and reassembled before he could get off.
In a statement to the BBC, Heathrow said it had ‘apologised to Mr Gardner for the technical fault’, and accepted it ‘fell short of our standards’.
It was a second time that Gardner, who is partially paralysed, has been stranded at Heathrow this year. In an earlier incident, he was stuck on an aircraft for nearly two hours after staff lost his wheelchair.
After the earlier incident, he told BBC Radio 4’s today programme: "There are hundreds, possibly thousands of others who have this experience and all we get is these platitudes from Heathrow Airport, calling me by my first name and saying they have created a case number for you.
"Nothing changes, it goes on and on happening and it is just so frustrating."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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