Man denied flight; told electric wheelchair battery posed risk to aircraft

Ken Harrower flew to Calgary from Toronto on Porter Airlines two weeks ago in his electric wheelchair. When he went to return home Sunday night, he was not allowed to board the plane.

The pilot said the battery on his wheelchair posed a risk to the aircraft.

"He said if I cannot disconnect my battery, he said I am considered a dangerous threat," Harrower said, "and he said no and he just walked away, and everybody else got on board and they left."

Harrower's wheelchair uses a non-spillable gel battery.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says passengers can have one non-spillable gel battery as well as one spare as carry-on.

IATA also says, "If the mobility aid is loaded in the aircraft with the batteries installed, the electrical circuits must be isolated by following the manufacturer's instructions."

Travellers are supposed to alert the airline they are travelling in an electric wheelchair, which Harrower's travel companion Erin Brandenburg says they did repeatedly.

"We had extensive conversation with Porter about Harrower's chair, the situation and what kind of thing it was," Brandenburg said, "so we really went out of our way to make sure we were covering all of our bases."

CTV News asked Porter Airlines why Harrower was denied.

In an emailed response, the company admits mistakes were made.

"Unfortunately, this situation was a case of human error," the statement from Porter Media read.

"The Captain who made the decision to deny boarding did so based on his knowledge of Transport Canada regulations related to batteries. While there are some circumstances that batteries need to be fully removed from wheelchairs, it was not required in this situation. In this case, the battery needed to be disconnected, which is how it was managed by our ground handlers in Toronto for his original departing flight."

Two hours after our email to the company, its president and CEO called Harrower to personally apologize.

The company will pay for the flights for Harrower and his companions and cover all their expenses incurred in their unexpected overnight stay in Calgary.

During his years as a Member of Parliament, Calgary lawyer Kent Hehr frequently commuted by air in his electric wheelchair.

He says he never faced a problem like Harrower's but that the incident points to a need for enhanced training of airline staff.

"There is an aspect of ableism here. ... Anyway you cut it, it's not an understanding of a person's needs as well as non-understanding of the requirements under Canadian law of what airlines are supposed to do," Hehr said.

"They have an obligation to educate their employees at airlines how to not only accommodate persons with disabilities but to have knowledge of wheelchairs and their battery requirements, their storage requirements (and) what procedures need to happen at an airline to allow for safe transportation of persons with disabilities."

Harrower agrees, saying while he's pleased with the apology, he doesn't want anyone else to go through the trouble and embarrassment he faced Sunday.

"I want Porter, and all airlines in Canada, to have a clear policy," Harrower said, "and then stick to that policy."

Porter Airlines says it is reinforcing the regulation to its staff to prevent similar occurrences going forward.