Icelandair feels internet backlash over wheelchair

Photo: Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson

Photo: Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson

Iceland’s national airline Icelandair has felt the wrath of the internet over the past 24 hours, after a British passenger posted pictures of an electric wheelchair destroyed while being loaded onto an aircraft.

“This is how Icelandair handed over Drew’s £20,000 power wheelchair, after dropping it when loading it on the plane,” writes Gary Graham on his Facebook page (see below).

“It is effectively written off and after 3 weeks of correspondence they have offered just over £1,000 in compensation, which apparently is their maximum ‘damaged baggage’ allowance!!!”

Graham describes the wheelchair as Drew’s “lifeline to the outside world” and reports that the family was “devastated” by Icelandair’s response.

A Facebook post from Drew Graham himself reads, “We gave you three weeks to do the right thing before we went public with this. Yesterday you told us that you could only offer us just over a grand. I did not want to go down this road. Now it is going public,” followed by a humorous rhyme:

“Icelanda­ir, you wrecked my chair!
I asked for help but you don't care,
Plea­se resol­ve this fair and square,
In­ter­net is a powerf­ul thing, so plea­se beware!”

Thousands of internet users shared have shared Gary Graham’s Facebook post – with the effect that within just ten hours Icelandair announced that they had been in contact with the family and that an agreement had been reached.

While no details of the resolution have been given, Icelandair Communications Officer Guðjón Arngrímsson has announced that the airline “has been in touch with the family and everybody in on board to find an amicable and harmonious solution”.

Icelandair’s Facebook and Twitter accounts have reportedly been flooded with complaints from people concerned about this case.

This is how Icelandair handed over Drews £20,000 power wheelchair, after dropping it when loading it on the plane . It...

Posted by Gary Graham on Wednesday, 6 January 2016

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