Two disabled Boston athletes are speaking out after what they describe as an uncomfortable experience on an international flight.
Desi Forte and Marlee Robinson made it to Denmark with no issues. But they say on their return flight to Boston via Scandinavian Airlines, they were told five minutes before takeoff that they had to get off because of their wheelchairs.
After a successful tournament, mingling with other disabled athletes, they say pure joy turned to physical and mental exhaustion, and they hope this doesn’t happen to other disabled travelers.
Boarding a plane is far from simple for these two women.
“Desi and I both have to dehydrate ourselves before the flight, so we had prepared that the day before,” Robinson said.
“To get all the way onto the plane, I mean, we were sitting in our seats, ready for takeoff,” explained Forte. “Everyone had boarded the plane.”
That’s when they were told they had to get off. They say they were not initially told why, but they later learned it was due to the weight of their wheelchairs.
The airline put them up in a hotel, and hours later, it reached out with new flight information for the next day.
But they still don’t understand why there was an issue on the return flight after an uneventful flight to Europe.
“We literally took the same exact flight over to Copenhagen from Boston, no issues,” Robinson said.
The women spent 10 days overseas, playing in a volt hockey tournament. Their team, the first in the country, is the Boston Whiplash.
“It’s played in specialized, low-to-the-ground powerchairs where paddles are fixed to them, it’s three on three,” Forte said.
They took home the bronze medal, but their first attempt to get home left a bad taste.
“That’s kind of the memory you’re left with, and so the impact is huge,” said their coach, Laura Calderon.
She says she personally got an explanation from Scandinavian Airlines after the chaos.
“They specifically told us that they messed up in Boston, that we shouldn’t have flown in the first place,” Calderon said.
The airline told NBC10 Boston this was a misunderstanding regarding a special permit required for heavier wheelchairs. It said it deeply regret how this impacted the women’s travel and it is reviewing its procedures immediately.
“They were very apologetic today, and we appreciate it,” Robinson said. “But I mean, we shouldn’t have to go through this.”
The women are happy to be home, but since Scandinavian Airlines has the only direct flight to Copenhagen, they are already expressing concern about a future trip.
