Norwich man 'demoralised' after Ryanair damages wheelchair
Mr Connor-Saunders, who plays for London WRC, is a personal trainer.Arriving back at Stansted last December after a tournament, he saw the back of his wheelchair - which he uses in everyday life, but not for rugby - had been damaged.He said it was "demoralising" as he used the made-to-measure chair for "everything"."A wheelchair is not your generic medical kit, or it's not your generic luggage that's lost and damaged and can be easily replaced," he said.
Mr Connor-Saunders, who did not have travel insurance, said the company that made it told him it could not be repaired.He used a hammer to straighten out the bent frame but said it was now painful to sit in, and he thought it was likely to break soon."I'm just sitting on a ticking time bomb at the moment," he said."I can only bear to be in my chair for two to three hours at a time or I'm in pain for the rest of the day."
Emails state that the airline has accepted responsibility for damaging the wheelchair and has offered him £1,500 in compensation."That wouldn't even cover the costs of two wheels, let alone replacing the chair," said Mr Connor-Saunders."This has stopped me from being able to work. I'm incapable of fronting up that extra money myself."A spokesperson from Ryanair said wheelchair handling at Toulouse Airport was provided by a separate company that it paid for."Under the Montreal Convention, the maximum compensation this passenger is entitled to is £1,500," the spokesperson added.
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