Disability advocate exposes airline blunders damaging mobility aids on every flight 

For many Australians, the excitement of travel is often tinged with anxiety—will the flight be on time, will the luggage arrive, will the in-flight meal be edible? But for those living with a disability, there’s a far more pressing concern: will their essential mobility aids survive the journey intact? 

Sadly, for a disability advocate, the answer has been a resounding ‘no’—not once, not twice, but three times, all at the hands of our national carrier, Qantas. 

Melbourne disability advocate Zoe Simmons, who lives with fibromyalgia, recently returned from a round-trip to Tokyo, only to find her wheelchair handed back to her in a sorry state: warped metal, broken parts, and deep scratches that rendered it unsafe and barely usable. 

This wasn’t her first rodeo with Qantas-induced wheelchair woes. In 2021, her chair suffered even more severe damage, and last year, the steering controller was broken off—an incident she didn’t even bother reporting, fearing she’d be dismissed or laughed at.

Zoe’s story is just one of thousands across Australia, where disabled travellers are forced to accept a grim reality.

Their mobility aids—extensions of their bodies, not just ‘baggage’—are routinely mishandled, damaged, and treated with a lack of respect that would be unthinkable if the same happened to, say, someone’s legs.

After her most recent ordeal, Qantas arranged for repairs through a partnered service.

But as Zoe pointed out, the onus is always on the disabled passenger to chase up repairs, explain their situation to a parade of airport staff, and advocate for themselves, often while exhausted from travel and, frankly, from having to fight the same battle over and over.

‘I just hate that it’s so common. What are they doing to our wheelchairs that causes metal to warp and break,’ she said. 

‘There are chunks out of the arm rests, the arm rests are very warped and are weirdly sitting now, they’re also loose, the foot guard has chunks out of it, my wheel cover and my cup holder are also damaged, not to mention the scratches, and so on.’

Zoe’s experience highlights a deeper issue: the emotional and physical toll of advocating for basic respect and fair treatment. 

When she raised her concerns with airport staff, she was met with dismissive sympathy and a manager who insisted that policies and procedures were in place, without acknowledging how exhausting it is to have to fight for those policies to be followed.

And when Qantas did respond, it was with a letter referring to her wheelchair as a ‘damaged bag’ and asking her to take it to an authorised repairer. 

If that wasn’t convenient, she was told to get a quote and send it in for review, which meant more hoops, onus, and exhaustion.

International comparisons: How does Australia stack up?

In the United States (US), the Department of Transportation requires airlines to report every instance of wheelchair or scooter damage publicly. 

The data has been sobering since 2018: an average of 25–30 mobility devices are damaged daily on US domestic flights. This transparency has at least shed light on the problem and put pressure on airlines to improve.

There is no such reporting here in Australia. Incidents like Zoe’s are swept under the rug, with little public accountability. 

The recent Disability Royal Commission has brought some attention to the issue, but Zoe pointed out, ‘While things are improving, they aren’t improving fast enough.’

A call for respect—and action

Zoe and other advocates are calling for:

• Disability-led policy and procedural reforms: Policies should be shaped by those with lived experience, not just written by people in boardrooms.
• Better staff training: Airline staff need to understand that wheelchairs are not just luggage—they are essential mobility aids, as vital as a person’s limbs.
• Public reporting and accountability: Airlines should be required to report all incidents of mobility aid damage, so the scale of the problem is clear and progress can be tracked.
• Streamlined repair and replacement processes: The burden of arranging repairs should not fall on the passenger. Airlines must take full responsibility for the safe transport and, if necessary, prompt repair or replacement of mobility aids.

Zoe’s frustration isn’t just about her own experience. ‘I’m not mad for myself—I am mad for every disabled person who experiences this, in whatever way that might look like,’ she said.

‘What I’m angry about is that this is what we are expected to put up with—and much, much worse—every time we fly.’

Qantas, for its part, has apologised and promised to investigate. 

Have you or someone you know experienced similar issues when travelling with a mobility aid? Are airlines doing enough to support disabled passengers, or is it time for a major overhaul? We’d love to hear your stories, thoughts, and suggestions in the comments below.

Also read: Qantas under fire as union fights for historic $121 million penalty