Loose Women star Sophie Morgan fights back tears as she claims British Airways broke her £8,000 wheelchair for a SECOND time
Loose Women’s Sophie Morgan fought back tears after claiming that British Airways staff broke her £8,000 wheelchair for a second time following a flight to LA on Saturday.
The disability campaigner, 38, who is paralysed from the waist down following a car accident aged 18, took to her Instagram saying she was ‘absolutely f***ing raging’.
Filming from arrivals she told the camera: ‘British Airways have broken my Batec [battery-powered attachment]. I arrived at the airport and it was working’.
‘Now I’m reunited with it off the back of the plane and it’s not working’.
Batec is a hand bike that connects to traditional wheelchairs to make it motorised and help disabled individuals travel more freely.
Furious: The disability campaigner, who is paralysed from the waist down following a car accident aged 18, took to her Instagram saying she was ‘absolutely f***ing raging’
An emotional Sophie continued: ‘[The wheelchair has] some kind of electrical fault, it’s not connecting when I turn the key and so what does that tell you? It’s been manhandled.’
‘I honestly don’t think I can actually take much more of this. I was just told to put a complaint in through the website again’.
‘Thankfully I know that’s not what I’m meant to do. I’ve had no sleep, I’m absolutely exhausted.’
Before adding: ‘It’s happened again. British Airways, you have broken my Batec. I’m actually speechless.’
In a statement to MailOnline BA said: ‘We’re really sorry for our customer’s experience and are in direct contact with her to resolve the issue as we investigate what happened’.
It comes after Sophie was told her to ‘send an email’ when she complained about the same issue in January.
After claiming British Airways damaged her chair after ‘wedging it in the hold’ from a flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow.
They had attached the chair to the battery powered attachment without permission and untrained staff were unable to separate them, leaving her terrified she might be stuck without it.
Heartbreak: She said ‘I honestly don’t think I can actually take much more of this. I was just told to put a complaint in through the website again’ (Sophie pictured in May)
Helpful: Batec (pictured) is a hand bike that connects to traditional wheelchairs to make it motorised and help disabled individuals travel more freely
When they did detach the chair from the battery, it had to be pieced back together, leaving it damaged and as she later discovered, the light was also broken.
Taking to Instagram, TV star Sophie said: ‘Landed at Heathrow with a bang.
‘Someone – no one took responsibility – decided to attach my wheelchair and my batec (battery-powered attachment) whilst in transit (they were checked in separately, in two parts, unattached) and they have done so a) without permission and b) COMPLETELY WRONG!!!
‘It took over half an hour to “break” them apart, all that time I had to sit on an aisle chair that was NOT safe and I didn’t know if I would be able to get back into my chair.
‘Eventually, they broke them apart and I got back into my chair and reattached the batec but it’s not safe to use. I then discovered more damage.’
She said the customer service she experienced after this was completely unacceptable.
‘And what was I told to do by BRITISH AIRWAYS!? Send an email via the website.
Shocking: Sophie was left wheelchair bound after suffering a T6 spinal cord injury in 2003 resulting in paralysis from the chest down at the age of 18
‘This has to stop!’:It comes after Sophie was told her to ‘send an email’ when she complained about the same issue in January
‘This has GOT TO STOP. Thousands of chairs are damaged by airlines every year. It’s #JustPlaneWrong.’
Sophie filmed a video which showed she was literally shaking because she was worried that she might not be able to get back into her chair which she relies on.
A spokesperson for British Airways told MailOnline: ‘We’re extremely sorry for Sophie’s experience and we’re investigating what happened as a matter of urgency.
‘We’ve been in contact with Sophie to sincerely apologise and to resolve the matter with her directly.
‘We carry hundreds of thousands of customers who require additional assistance each year and we work hard to provide help and support them throughout the whole journey.
‘It’s extremely disheartening when things go wrong, and we don’t underestimate the impact this has. We’re committed to ensuring we deliver a consistently good service, and we’ll be working closely with Sophie and our dedicated accessibility teams to discuss how we can continue to make improvements to ensure a great flying experience for everyone.’
London-based campaigner Sophie has undergone a host of impressive projects including presenting Channel 4’s TV coverage of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
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