Jetstar sorry for wheelchair affront

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Australian paralympian Kurt Fearnley has called Jetstar's overhaul of their boarding procedures for disabled flyers "a great start".

The budget airline contacted Newcastle-based Mr Fearnley, 28, late yesterday to tell him of the revision, following an embarrassing incident in which he had to crawl around Brisbane Airport on Friday.

The multiple wheelchair marathon winner had just arrived in Brisbane from Papua New Guinea after crawling the Kokoda Trail when he was offered an "unsuitable" replacement wheelchair after being forced to check his own with luggage.

Previously, disabled travellers were not allowed to take their own wheelchair through security but the carrier said yesterday that they had changed procedure.

"This is the best thing I could have hoped for to come out of this situation," Mr Fearnley told Newcastle newspaper The Herald after being contacted by Jetstar.

"There were a lot of misunderstandings along the way, but Jetstar has come to the fore, this is actually a really positive thing.

"This was not just one incident, this happens all the time but this is a great start."

Jetstar apologised after Mr Fearnley slammed the carrier at the National Disability Awards dinner in Canberra on Monday night.

"I said there is not a chance that I am going to sit there and be pushed," he told the audience.

He said he preferred to crawl including to the toilet and across the tarmac rather than use the offered chair as he waited for a flight to Newcastle.

He said a company representative had contacted him to say they were drafting alternative boarding procedures. It is believed these will include giving disabled passengers the ability to pick seats.

Jetstar would still review how it handled the needs of passengers with wheelchairs, but not under a committed timeline, airline spokesman Simon Westaway said last night.

Sydney's University of Technology associate professor Simon Darcy said the incident highlighted a culture of neglect by airlines.

"This is not an isolated incident, this is happening all the time," he said.

The professor, who uses a wheelchair, said an overhaul of Australian carriers' policy on transporting the disabled was overdue.