A disabled schoolboy has been left housebound after EasyJet staff made him ditch his wheelchair battery on a flight back from Disneyland Paris.
Anthony Higgins, 14, from Liverpool, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy which leaves him unable to walk and was returning from a three-day trip to the theme park funded by Make A Wish Foundation when a pilot refused to allow his £1,000 battery on board – despite him flying out with it.
The teenager, also known as AJ, suffers muscle weakness from the progressive genetic disorder and has been ‘stuck in his house’ unable to attend school since being forced to dump the battery in Paris, his mother said.
Melissa Higgins, a full-time carer, and partner Christopher Harvey, 36, took their family for the ‘dream’ trip on August 27 but they were left ‘humiliated’ and in tears when returning home.
The mother-of-four said a pilot refused to allow the wheelchair battery onto the flight back from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Manchester airport on August 29 as the wattage wasn’t visible.
When her partner tried to argue their case she claims the pilot’s treatment became ‘horrible’ when he realised he was from Liverpool and said the battery posed a risk to other passengers.
She claims she had paperwork stating it was safe to fly – but was forced to leave the battery in Paris.
Without his wheelchair, which was donated by a charity, the teen is now ‘stuck’ inside and has ‘lost all of his independence’.
A schoolboy was left sobbing after EasyJet staff made him ditch his wheelchair battery on a flight back from Disneyland Paris
Anthony Higgins, 14, from Liverpool, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy which leaves him unable to walk
Melissa Higgins, a full-time carer, and partner Christopher Harvey, 36, took their family for the ‘dream’ trip on August 27 but they were left ‘humiliated’ and in tears when returning home
Ms Higgins has received an apology from the airline but is hoping for the battery to be returned.
The mother, from Speke, Liverpool, said: ‘I was in shock on the plane and thinking “what’s going on?”.
‘We’ve not had this problem before. I don’t get why all the commotion’s gone on for nothing.
‘It was a lifelong dream of AJ’s to go to Disneyland. He was able to fly to Disneyland with no problems.
‘[On the plane home] I disconnected the battery and one of the pilots was standing there.
‘He walked in and got the other pilot and said to my partner “what’s that?” My partner said “it’s the battery for his wheelchair” and he said “you can’t bring that on the airplane”.
‘It went through customs perfectly fine. If there was something wrong with it they would’ve known.’
The mother said that a pilot complained there was no wattage on the batteries, despite the batteries not having wattage because they are dry not liquid.
The teenager, also known as AJ, suffers muscle weakness from the progressive genetic disorder
The mother-of-four said a pilot refused to allow the wheelchair battery onto the flight back from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Manchester airport on August 29 as the wattage wasn’t visible
The family were then told the battery would put others travellers at risk.
‘[The pilot] started being dead horrible with [my partner] and saying “if you don’t respect what I’m saying you can get your family and get off the plane,” Ms Higgins said.
‘As soon as they realised he was from Liverpool the treatment changed and as soon as he started talking he started being horrible. My partner doesn’t pick arguments.
‘Doing this in front of everyone was humiliating and everyone on the plane was moaning. We were all crying.
‘In the end we just wanted to get the kids home so we had to leave the battery behind and had to come home without it.
‘Obviously we wanted to bring the chair back with us because it’s his life.’
The mother claims AJ has lost all of his independence without his wheelchair and is hoping to be reunited with the battery to avoid having to fork out £1,000 for a new one.
She added: ‘EasyJet has caused unnecessary drama and stopped him from going to school and socialising. He’s been stuck in the house and can’t go anywhere.
‘If he hasn’t got that chair he can’t get around. He literally can’t walk and he can’t propel himself because his upper body is too weak. It takes all his independence.
‘It was donated to him by a charity and any spare parts cost a lot of money. We haven’t got a replacement battery and we’re hoping the battery will be sent back to us.
The family were returning home from a three-day trip to the Disneyland theme park funded by Make A Wish Foundation
Ms Higgins has received an apology from the airline but is hoping for the £1,000 battery to be returned
‘We got told [the battery] was getting binned. Shouldn’t we have the option whether we want to get it transported back over?
‘I had a phone call yesterday and apparently it is at the airport and they’re trying to get it back to him and apologised.
‘Everyone is telling me to not let it go.’
An easyJet spokesman said: ‘Safety is easyJet’s highest priority and airlines must follow the safety regulations for the carriage of batteries, which are allowed to travel on the aircraft as long as the required information for safe carriage can be provided, and we advise customers of these requirements ahead of travel.
‘Unfortunately as the necessary information could not be provided for this battery, in line with safety procedures it was unable to travel.
‘However we fully understand the frustration this will have caused and are in contact with the family to offer further assistance and have arranged to return the battery to them today.’
