Thumbs down…to Air Canada yet again for its treatment of passenger, Ryan Lachance, age 44, a White Rock-based stand up comedian who lives with quad spastic cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair. Last month In Vancouver an AC ground crew insisted on transferring him without a lift, despite four requests to get an Eagle lift from his care assistant.
“It was a massive hour and a half struggle”, said Lachance. “I travel with sling underneath me to make it easier for people to pick me up. They kept pulling the sling which hurt me and bruised my back and my hip Lachance. “It was painful to watch, said his assistant. “One guy that was holding him up on his shoulders did not have his shoulders [properly], and the guy who had his legs pulled, and Ryan just flew off the seat and landed on his butt. Then they lifted him up again and decided to get the eagle.” The incident left the comedian bedridden for three days.
Lachance was equally unimpressed and humil-iated by his Toronto AC experience. He says he was rushed off his flight and through the busy airport without anyone taking the time to adjust his shirt which was exposing his stomach.
After filing a formal complaint, Lachance was offered $500 in flight credits.
Source: CBC
Photo: Kevin Malik
