THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 6, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
24 Jan 2024


NextImg:Pilot blocked disabled man from boarding flight, wrongly claimed he was ‘dangerous threat’ due to wheelchair batteries

A Canadian airline’s pilot erroneously told a man who uses a motorized wheelchair that he couldn’t board a flight because the batteries connected to his mobility aid presented “a dangerous threat,” according to a report.

Ken Harrower said a Porter Airlines pilot inquired about his power chair and then stopped him from getting on the flight at Calgary International Airport that was traveling to Toronto Sunday.

“[He] asked me … ‘can the batteries be disconnected?’ I told him no. And then … he said I am a dangerous threat, then he walked away and left us high and dry,” Harrower told CBC News.

Harrower was oddly then just booked on another flight by airline staff, leading him to believe the pilot had his own set of rules.

“I felt I was being discriminated against because I’m in a chair,” he told the outlet. “My power chair is my legs, it’s is how I get around. I cannot stand, I cannot walk, so I have to have [it].”

Ken Harrower said he was denied entry onto a Porter Airlines flight at Calgary International Airport over the battery in his wheelchair. Facebook

The airline admitted the pilot screwed up.

“The captain who made the decision to deny boarding did so based on his knowledge of Transport Canada regulations related to batteries,” the airline said in a statement to CBC News.

“While there are some circumstances that batteries need to be fully removed from wheelchairs, it was not required in this situation.”

Porter Airlines has admitted their pilot screwed up and should have allowed Harrower onboard the Toronto bound flight.

Porter Airlines has admitted their pilot screwed up and should have allowed Harrower onboard the Toronto-bound flight. Getty Images

Porter explained wheelchairs similar to Harrower’s don’t need the batteries fully taken out, but only disconnected, which ground handlers are capable of doing.

The airline said its CEO was in touch with Harrower to personally offer a refund, pay for any expenses caused by the delay and dole out further flight credit.

Harrower and Erin Brandenburg, who have been working on a play together, were told on another flight two weeks ago that his power chair was safe for flying because it had a gel battery, according to the outlet.

“Porter offers our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and personal impact this has caused Ken,” the airline said.