BBC journalist crawls to toilet mid-flight after airline denies wheelchair access
A BBC journalist was left dishonored after being forced to crawl to the toilet during a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Poland to London, as the airline refused to provide an onboard wheelchair. Frank Gardner, BBC's security correspondent, shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter), calling out the airline's policy, which he described as discriminatory against disabled passengers.
Gardner, who has been paralyzed for over 20 years following a shooting by Al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia, expressed his frustration in a post. "Wow. It’s 2024 and I’ve just had to crawl along the floor of this LOT Polish airline to get to the toilet... as ‘we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy.’ If you’re disabled and can’t walk, this is just discriminatory," he wrote, alongside a photo of himself sitting on the plane’s floor.
In a detailed account on the BBC, Gardner explained that the ordeal was both physically uncomfortable and degrading. "It was humiliating to shuffle along the floor of an aircraft in front of other passengers in my suit," he said, adding that LOT Polish Airlines informed him it was not their policy to provide onboard aisle chairs. He criticized the airline for not accommodating disabled passengers, pointing out that such devices are compact and can easily be stored on planes.
Gardner mentioned that he had never faced a similar issue with any other airline and found it astonishing that in 2024, an airline could operate in and out of British airports with a policy that essentially implied disabled passengers unable to walk were not allowed to use the toilet during the flight.
Although Gardner was critical of the airline, he defended the cabin crew, stating that they were as helpful and apologetic as possible. He acknowledged that the situation was not their fault but a result of the airline’s policy, and mentioned that he would refrain from flying with LOT Polish Airlines until they "join the 21st century."
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Mangaluru Dasara Mahotsava inaugurated at Gokarnanath Temple
Mangaluru: The grand annual ‘Mangaluru Dasara Mahotsava’ was inaugurated at Shri Gokarnanath Temple in Kudroli on Thursday by former Union Minister B. Janardhan Poojary. The event marks the beginning of the vibrant Dasara celebrations in the city.
As part of the traditional rituals, devotees carried the specially adorned idol of Goddess Sharada in a ceremonial procession around the temple premises before installing it in the main hall for worship. In addition to the Sharada, the idols of Mahaganapathi and the nine forms of Durga were also installed for special prayers and offerings during the festival, which will continue until October 13.
The inaugural ceremony featured a performance by the renowned tiger dancers, a highlight of the Kudroli festivities. The temple was decorated for the occasion, and lighting arrangements, along with other festive decorations, have been set up across the city by devotees to celebrate Mangaluru Dasara.
The celebrations will culminate on the evening of Sunday, October 13, with a grand procession of the idols through the streets of Mangaluru, marking the conclusion of the Mahotsava.
