“It’s 2024, disabled people deserve a more dignified and safe way to fly.” A wheelchair user was left “distraught and absolutely terrified” after being carried by four airport employees off a plane in Costa Rica . In a viral Instagram post, 26-year-old Canadian travel blogger Tori Hunter shared a clip of the dangerous way she disembarked a plane in Liberia , Costa Rica .
The influencer who aims to raise awareness prefaced the post by saying, “It’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 16), so it seems like a fitting day to share what happened on my flight to Costa Rica last week.” In the video, Hunter was seen visibly distressed while four on-ground personnel slowly carried her off the plane using a “broken” aisle chair. Wheelchairs are stored in the hold during flights and therefore, wheelchair users like Tori are not able to take their own wheelchair into the main cabin of the plane.
Hunter said the situation was “not safe for anyone”. A post shared by Tori Hunter | Disabled Creator & Blogger (@torihunter.blog) Hunter has a neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy, causing limited neck movement and a need for an electric wheelchair.
Because of this, her father had to hold her head to keep her neck safe, since the chair kept tilting to the side while she was being carried off the plane. “Never in my life have I felt so out of control and so disconnected from my body”, she wrote. Hunter said she was never informed that this is how t.