Paralympian Patrick Flanagan devastated after wheelchair 'destroyed' on the way to Tokyo
Team Ireland's Patrick Flanagan did not want to start his Paralympic journey like this.
"My chair was destroyed," the elite swimmer tweeted early Saturday, after finding his wheelchair "completely broken" upon landing at London's Heathrow Airport on his way to compete at his first Paralympics in Tokyo.
"It's so devastating," he told a small group of reporters on Wednesday.
"It really is completely upending for you," he said.
Flanagan said his wheelchair, which he called "my independence," was dented and scraped, and its wheels no longer spin.
"That's just not how we should be treated," he said from Tokyo Wednesday. "That's not how our wheelchairs deserve to be treated because they're so important to us, and it's just a message to the industry in general that more responsibility needs to be taken around the issue."
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"The staff at Heathrow were extremely apologetic," he wrote over the weekend. "But unfortunately an apology does very little for me."
"We are sorry to hear that your wheelchair was damaged in transit to Heathrow and understand how distressing this would have been," the airport replied to his tweet, adding that it would work with the unnamed airline and origin airport to investigate what happened and how to avoid future instances.
"At Heathrow, we are determined to provide a welcoming and accessible airport that ensures all passengers can travel in the way the choose with the dignity and care they expect, and we will be in touch with Mr. Flanagan to ensure his future journey through Heathrow is as smooth as possible," the airport said in a statement to Paste BN.
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Custom chairs are not easily replaced, and they can be very expensive, running upwards of $10,000.
"It's not a case of going down to the shop, trying it out, picking up the next day," Flanagan told Paste BN. "It's a significant period of time that you're going to be left in a really tough situation." Between orders and multiple fittings, he said the whole process usually takes him half a year.
Fortunately Flanagan, who was born with spina bifida, had a backup: his previous wheelchair, which was flown out to him from his home in Sligo. He also has the support of Paralympics Ireland.
"But not all wheelchair users are lucky enough to have a spare," he wrote. "The point remains the same, this should never happen!"
Damaged wheelchairs are not just a problem abroad.
Air Travel Consumer Reports from the U.S. Department of Transportation found more than 1,700 wheelchairs and scooters have been mishandled by U.S. airlines this year.
"I'm gutted to have to start out my Paralympic journey like this," he told his followers on Twitter, but said he couldn't wait "to put on a performance to be proud of" at the Tokyo Games.
Flanagan will swim the 100m backstroke and 400m freestyle at the Paralympics.