Para-snooker player missed flight over hoist issue

A para-snooker player who was refused access to his flight at the last minute because his hoist was too heavy says disabled people are being treated like "second-class citizens" by airlines.

Matthew Lester missed his flight to Bulgaria for the World Disability Billiards and Snooker European Championship, despite notifying carrier Wizz Air in advance of the equipment he would be travelling with.

He said: "It's just astounding to me that in this day and age disabled people get treated like second class citizens by airlines."

Wizz Air said it "sincerely apologises" for what happened and said it would learn from mistakes to improve disabled travellers' experiences.

Lester, from Doncaster, said he regularly traveled to play in snooker competitions and always informed the airline of his access and equipment needs when booking.

He said he booked his ticket to Bulgaria in August and emailed Wizz Air's Accessibility department.

After two weeks of no response he rang the airline and said he was assured his equipment - a wheelchair and travel hoist - were on the system and everything was fine.

"I'm so used to doing this that I have a document on my computer with all the dimensions and weights of everything, so I just copy and paste that into an email," he said.

"I take it to the airport to show at check-in too, because often they have to put it on the system at the airport even though you've already told the airline."

However, when Lester arrived at Luton Airport on 19 September, around three hours before his flight, he said he was told the hoist was "too heavy".

He said he then spent "five hours" trying to resolve the issue, by which time he had missed his flight.

Lester said he was able to re-book his flight for the following morning, but had to rearrange his opening fixtures as a result.

"I just can't figure it out, but every single disabled person that gets on a flight has exactly the same struggle," he said.

"We have to be so regimented in our preparations before we fly and even then when we do everything that is asked of us, like I did, often it is still not enough."

Lester has encountered previous travel problems, having had to wait five weeks for approval to take his electric wheelchair on a flight to Thailand in 2025.

A bill which would see airlines that fail disabled travellers fined was backed at its second reading earlier this year.

In a statement Wizz Air said it "sincerely apologises" for the disruption Lester suffered.

"We take the needs of passengers requiring special assistance extremely seriously and are reviewing our processes to identify any necessary improvements and help prevent similar situations in the future," a spokesperson said.

"Although Mr Lester and his carer were rebooked onto the next available flight at no additional cost, we recognise that his experience fell short of the standard of service we aim to provide and are sorry for the inconvenience caused."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North