Disability advocate removed from Virgin flight over wheelchair motor dispute

Virgin Australia says it is reviewing an incident which left a disability advocate feeling "humiliated" after he was removed from a plane before its departure.Shane Hryhorec, an Adelaide-based disability advocate with C5 incomplete quadriplegia, regularly travels by air for work with his service animal and a wheelchair with a portable electric motor.He said he had taken three flights with the wheelchair and SmartDrive that week with no issue, but when he boarded the Sydney to Adelaide flight on Monday, he had no space to store the device under the seats in his row, after being instructed by the crew to do so.In a post on social media published on Monday night, he showed parts of his exchange with cabin staff over the issue, which ended with him being removed from the flight. "It made me feel humiliated, it made me feel so small, and it's just awful this level of discrimination is occurring in the year 2026," he told ABC News on Tuesday. SmartDrive allowed to be stored in overhead on other flights, advocate saysMr Hryhorec told the ABC he had travelled with the motor on multiple flights without issue, including three operated by Virgin Australia in the days prior.He said on those flights, crew had allowed for the motor to be stored in the overhead locker. Shane Hryhorec travels with an attachable motor to provide his wheelchair added mobility. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)On the flight on Monday, staff told him he would need to keep the motor by his feet. He said the row he was allocated had no space to fit the motor and he did not want to put it next to his service dog for the animal's safety. He spoke through possible options with cabin staff, including storing the battery in another row or moving to another seat, but eventually was told he would need to vacate the flight. In one section of the video, a crew member can be heard suggesting the motor could be stored elsewhere, or whether he was willing to be relocated to a different seat. Disability advocate Shane Hryhorec said he was able to stow his wheelchair motor overhead on three prior Virgin flights last week. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)According to Mr Hryhorec, his service dog was required to remain in the third row, preventing his relocation to another seat. "Their rules had contradicted themselves so much that there is nowhere I can sit on the plane that I can actually put it [the motor] under the seat, according to their guidelines," said Mr Hryhorec."It just made no sense."It was extremely embarrassing. 200 or so passengers looking at me, and then they brought the chair in, then transferred me into the chair, then got on the PA and said 'we're sorry about the delay, a passenger is getting off-loaded, we're sorry about the inconvenience'."So, everyone's watching me getting wheeled off, as they're apologising to all the passengers."Virgin Australia says it will review incidentIn a statement, Virgin Australia said it "remains committed to providing an accessible and inclusive travel experience for all our guests"."While the safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority, we are reviewing the circumstances of yesterday’s experience to understand whether there are opportunities to better identify specific seating or stowage requirements in advance and how our teams can support guests in similar circumstances," the spokesperson said. ABC News has asked for further clarification from the airline about the correct stowage of items like portable wheelchair motors, and whether they were allowed in overhead storage lockers, but is yet to receive a response.