One of the 12 cyclists set to represent Britain at this summer’s Paralympic Games in Beijing, hand cyclist Rachel Morris, aged 29, is hoping that a new EU Air Regulation coming into force this July will give her a smooth flight.
For Rachel, who won two Gold medals in last year’s World Disability Cycling Championships, normally dreads flying because she feels she is treated so badly.
Rachel, who has Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and is a bi-lateral above the knee amputee, and a wheelchair user, says she gets assistance she doesn’t need and where she does need help facilities are not in place.
‘There is the odd absolutely fantastic flight, but normally I dread flying because of the stress and worry I experience. I know I am going to get treated like a second class citizen. People don’t realise your wheelchair is your legs and my wheelchair will be damaged and they will be patronising and don’t listen to what I say.
‘I am an independent wheelchair user and they give me special assistance that I don’t need, but then don’t enable me to take my wheelchair along the tunnel straight onto the plane because they always have one step. On one occasion I was asked to hop up the step because they hadn’t organised the assistance I required. One airport even tried to charge me for assistance, which they shouldn’t do.
‘ I have also had problems at the airport where they won’t let me use the short stay car park, which is nearer and try to say that because the buses from the long stay car parks are accessible I can use them. However, I can’t because I have a four-and-a-half foot bike and a heavy kit bag and I can’t get them on the bus.’
Rachel, who trains four to five hours a day and is generally up at dawn, added that she welcomed the new Regulation and the fact that when things went wrong she could complain to the Commission’s Helpline.
However, Rachel, who has been a member of the British Cycling Team for two years, now has her sights firmly set on Beijing where she will going all out for gold.
‘It is a dream to be competing in the ultimate event after all the years of training and the dedication,’ she said.
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For further details on Rachel Morris' case study, please contact the Commission on the numbers below:
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For more information, visit www.equalityhumanrights.com/airtravel