A SCOT living with Parkinson’s disease has said he was left to crawl through airport security on his hands and knees after his flight was cancelled and he ran out of medication.
Parkinson’s UK said the treatment of David Allan, who is the Scotland trustee on the charity’s board, was “shocking and unacceptable”.
Allan, from Alloa, had been due to leave Gatwick Airport for Edinburgh after attending a two-day board meeting in London.
However, he was told his British Airways flight was cancelled and he would not be able to fly until 24 hours later from Heathrow.
Allan must take 27 tablets each day, made up from nine different medications, with many needing to be taken at set times.
After repeated phone calls to NHS 111 and trips to a chemist and the urgent treatment centre at Crawley Hospital, it became clear there were no supplies available at either the airport or in the towns around it.
Allan’s medication began to wear off and said his mobility failed to the point he could barely walk and felt light-headed and faint.
At the special assistance desk at Heathrow before his journey home, Allan says he was told BA had not transferred his requirement for assistance from Gatwick and they were fully booked so could not help.
Allan said: “After making sure again there was no medication available at the pharmacies in Heathrow I made my way to security. I was more or less on my hands and knees crawling through airport security. I’m prone to falling as a result of my Parkinson’s so the journey through a busy airport was extremely difficult as I was afraid of being knocked over.
“Previous falls had led me to fracturing both my hips and therefore having both hips replaced.”
Annie Macleod, Scotland director at Parkinson’s UK, said: “David’s treatment by the airline, airports and the NHS is completely shocking and unacceptable. It beggars belief that companies could be so callous and lacking in understanding of Parkinson’s and the impact of not having medication.”
A BA spokeswoman said: “We’re sorry to hear of Mr Allan’s experience during the major weather and air traffic control disruption which affected a number of airlines last week. We are investigating what happened with the assistance provider appointed by the airport.”
A spokeswoman for Heathrow said: "The experience that Mr Allan had when travelling through our airport is unacceptable and we apologise unreservedly that this fell short of standards we expect. Our aim is to accommodate the needs of all passengers requiring special assistance and our team is getting in touch with Mr Allen to look into the particular circumstances of his journey as a matter of urgency."
A Gatwick spokesman said: "We're sorry to hear about the terrible experience that Mr Allan has had throughout his journey. We are disappointed that we did not do more to help when we had the opportunity and we will review our procedures to try and prevent this sort of incident from occurring again."
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