A student recently deplored her experience on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, claiming she was "discriminated against" due to her being an amputee.
Isabella Beale, a 23-year-old congenital amputee without a left forearm, was reportedly singled out in January for sitting in the emergency exit row while traveling to and from Europe with her family.
During her flight from Australia, Beale claimed that a staff member asked her to leave her seat in a "loud tone," leaving her feeling "humiliated" in front of other passengers.
An SIA spokesman told ABC News that the airlines has since apologised for the “distress or embarrassment caused by the request (for her) to move”.
According to SIA's website, one of the requirements for sitting along the emergency exit row is that passengers must be "fully able-bodied, and capable of opening and moving quickly or reaching and passing through the emergency exit doors without assistance."
Beale stated she did not require any such support, reported ABC News.
She added that although she had switched seats with her partner in order to be away from the emergency exit, she was then instructed to move to the row behind, which she found "very humiliating and upsetting."
"I understand that there may be a policy regarding this; I'm not requesting that you seat me in the emergency room; I'm requesting that you treat me like a human being," she said.
Return flight
On her return journey to Australia, Beale said she once again suffered prejudice from personnel, even after she checked with staff members at the check-in desk about where she may seat.
The staff at the check-in counter acknowledged and renewed her ticket, which remained in the exit row of the aircraft.
She remarked, "It was definitely ten times worse the second time around."
Before takeoff, she reported that a woman approached her and demanded to see her ticket, accompanied by two air stewardesses and two ground workers.
When she was once again informed she had to relocate, she inquired why, and stated that the manager pointed to her missing limb and remarked, “Well the problem is obvious,” and continued to say it in front of the entire flight.
"I was extremely upset and hurt, and I felt that my disability was being maligned in front of all these people, who were all in a hurry and raising their voices and shouting."
A spokeswoman for SIA stated that the crew was addressing a "possible safety concern," but the "interactions may have been hurried due to time restrictions in preparing the aircraft for departure."
The representative stated that the workers had been given more customer training after the complaint.
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