Virgin Australia has apologised to a disability advocate who said he was “humiliated” by his removal from a flight over his wheelchair motor.
The airline called Shane Hryhorec on Wednesday afternoon to offer an apology, two days after the Adelaide-based man published a viral video showing the incident onboard a flight from Sydney.
Hryhorec lives with C5 incomplete quadriplegia and uses a wheelchair with a power assist device called a SmartDrive.
In the video, which has received 16m views on TikTok and Instagram combined, Hryhorec can be seen telling the flight staff he had already taken three flights with Virgin Australia during the previous week with no issue.
Staff can be heard instructing him to store the motor under the seat even though there was no space to secure it.
While some staff attempt to offer alternative options, one member can be heard telling him the crew on the previous flights “have done the wrong thing then, just to accommodate you” and asking him to delete the videos he had taken.
He was then removed from the flight.
Since then, he said he had received two phone calls from the airline, but it was not until Wednesday’s call that he got an apology.
“It’s nice to hear them take ownership of this – which airlines don’t typically do – but I felt that the pressure was building on them and they had no choice, which is a bit disappointing,” Hryhorec told Guardian Australia.
“You want them to make change, not because of the brand damage, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
In a statement released by the airline, Virgin said it “sincerely apologises to Mr Shane Hryhorec following his recent experience”.
“We regret what occurred and acknowledge that we did not meet our own standards in how we handled this situation.
“Mr Hryhorec’s experience was below what we expect for our customers, and we are deeply sorry for the distress and frustration this caused him.”
The airline confirmed it had contacted Hryhorec to apologise and to understand his experience, and said it would “learn from this and strive to meet the standards that everyone at Virgin Australia aspires to deliver”.
During his previous flights, Hryhorec had been allowed to store the SmartDrive in the overhead locker, but in the final leg he was asked to stow it under the seat due to a new rule.
But he did not have space for the motor to be stored by his feet because the business class arm rest in front acted as a barrier.
“I was upset, I was angry, I was humiliated,” he said, of being removed from the flight.
The 41-year-old has complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission and said he would not withdraw it until he was convinced the airline would make changes.
“The goal is simple: people with disabilities should be able to fly in Australia without stress and anxiety and burdens put upon them,” he said.
Between 2016 and 2022, the commission received more than 100 disability discrimination complaints against airlines.
The federal government in 2024 released its aviation white paper recognising people with disability face barriers across their air travel journeys, and committing to aviation-specific disability standards, including enforceable obligations for airlines and airports.
People with disability continue to endure stress and anxiety every time they go to the airport, Hryhorec said.
In April, Adelaide airport apologised to Hryhorec after a staff member approached the wheelchair user and told him his mum would not be able to pick him up from the disability parking bay because she did not have a permit.
“Every touch point in the airline industry is ableist,” he said.
“Can you imagine if every time you fly, you get a lucky dip and if you pull the wrong dip you get booted off a plane or you have your wheelchair damaged? This happens to people with disabilities every day.”
