To call this rule controversial is to put it lightly – in actual fact, this is an illegal manoeuvre on Jet2's part, in breach of disability discrimination legislation. The airline has decreed that owners of electric wheelchairs weighing in excess of 100 kilogrammes are not to be accepted for carriage on board their flights, making the airline the only UK and EU registered carrier to impose such illegal weight limits.
As of 2008, when legislation was put in place to protect disabled flyers, all other European airlines waived weight limits, realising that many electric wheelchairs easily exceeded the 100 kilogramme limit and therefore their users would be significantly disadvantaged.
And it gets worse. Electric wheelchair users are not the only group of people with disabilities Jet2 openly discriminates against. On its website, Jet2 states that disabled passengers who fail to pre-book assistance may be denied boarding or forced to rebook on a later flight for a fee.
Anti-discrimination legislation illegalises policies that prevent boarding on the grounds of missing pre-notification, and equally illegal is charging a rebooking fee for missed flights when circumstances are beyond the passenger's control.
Jet2's special assistance team has not commented on their policies but has confirmed wheelchairs exceeding 100 kilogrammes are not accepted on their flights.
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Wheelchair weight limit for Jet2
Low cost carrier Jet2 enforces a rather controversial rule on its disabled passengers: a weight limit not on their luggage but on their mobility devices.
