Airline damages $33k wheelchair belonging to girl with rare bone disease

A girl with a rare bone disease was left without the use of her specialist wheelchair after it was damaged by an airline while she travelled to medical appointments.

Adelaide Tuimalealiifano is one of about 60 people in the world diagnosed with multicentric carpotarsal osteolysis syndrome (MCTO), a genetic disorder that leads to the loss of the wrist and ankle bones.

She can walk short distances but largely relies on her wheelchair which is worth $33,000.

But during a flight from Townsville to Brisbane earlier this week, the wheelchair was broken when a bracket was twisted.

"It actually took quite a significant force for that bracket to twist," Adelaide's mother Amanda said.

The family discovered the damage when they arrived at Brisbane Airport.

Without a working wheelchair, Adelaide's father Jaster carried his six-year-old daughter through the Queensland Children's Hospital.

He later fixed the chair after buying some hardware tools, but Ms Tuimalealiifano said not everyone was so fortunate.

"Someone's wheelchair is essentially their legs, and breaking a wheelchair is like breaking someone's legs,"

she said.

"If our daughter was an adult and she was travelling solo and she couldn't walk any more … she wouldn't be able to leave the airport and she would be stranded.

"It can be absolutely detrimental for people with disabilities."

A widespread problem

Ms Tuimalealiifano posted about the ordeal in a social media video that has been watched almost 100,000 times.

She received many comments from people sharing similar experiences.

"Some people with disabilities completely refuse to travel on public transportation like airlines because their chairs are so complex … and they are so reliant on it that they can't even chance it getting damaged," Ms Tuimalealiifano said.

"It is a systemic issue in the airline industry."

The family received multiple apologies from Virgin Australia.

In a statement, a Virgin Australia spokesperson said the airline extended immediate support and assistance to the family.

"Virgin Australia is committed to improving our processes to provide an accessible and inclusive travel experience for all our guests," the spokesperson said.

Ms Tuimalealiifano hopes the incident is a catalyst and "stepping stone" for conversations and meaningful change in the travel industry.

Calls for mandatory reporting

The incident is the latest in a number involving wheelchairs on Virgin Australia flights, including in 2017, two in 2023, including when a former Queensland Australian of the Year was tipped out of a wheelchair, and another two in 2024.

In August this year, Shane Hryhorec was removed from a Virgin Australia flight in the Whitsundays because of issues with storing his portable wheelchair motor.

People With Disability Australia (PWDA) chief executive Megan Spindler-Smith said damage to personal mobility equipment such as wheelchairs was a "long-standing issue".

"It's so common that I'm not sure how it can continue to happen," they said.

"How are airlines not sorting this out?

"When equipment is actually damaged, passengers need more than just a 'sorry, we'll try and do this better'."

They want mandatory reporting for airlines on incidents involving damaged or missing personal mobility equipment to better understand the scale of the problem and common causes.

PDWA has been working with the federal government on proposed aviation disability standards. Public consultation closed on the draft standards earlier this month.

Spindler-Smith wants the standards to become "practical, enforceable requirements" that change procedures at airports.

"What really needs to change is the prevention of it happening," they said.

"That means airlines and ground staff need to be properly trained … on how to handle wheelchairs, because they are not the same as luggage.

"We hope there can be confidence for people with disability who are travelling that their equipment will be handled safely … so we can travel like everyone else does."