Ryanair has faced accusations after siblings, including a disabled passenger, were reportedly removed from a flight in a manner described as insensitive due to wheelchair fit issues.
The incident has highlighted accessibility challenges in Irish and European aviation, prompting calls for better policies to support passengers with disabilities.
An incident on July 10, 2026, involving a disabled passenger being removed from a Ryanair flight at Dublin Airport has sparked widespread concern and accusations of poor treatment.
Jaroslaw “Jarek” Kula, a passenger paralyzed from the neck down, and his sister Dorota Marah were boarding a flight from Dublin to Wroclaw, Poland, when ground crew claimed his electric wheelchair could not fit into the aircraft hold. Despite his sister providing evidence that the exact same wheelchair had successfully traveled on a Ryanair flight in January, staff allegedly gave them an ultimatum to leave the chair behind or disembark.
The incident sparked intense public backlash after Ms. Marah publicly accused staff of removing her brother from the plane “like a sack of potatoes,” leaving him deeply humiliated and distressed while the flight was delayed.
The dispute centers on wheelchair dimensions and previous travel history:
The airline stated that the passenger completed an Electric Mobility Device form but provided understated dimensions. They claim the chair exceeded the maximum permitted cargo hold dimensions (81 x 119 x 119 cm) and stated “it couldn’t have been the same wheelchair” used in January.
Ms. Marah produced photo evidence confirming it was the exact same wheelchair model from their prior trip. She noted that the chair fits safely into the cargo hold if it is properly tilted, which handlers failed to do this time. Irish Independent
To complete their journey, the family had to rebook alternative flights at a personal cost of €800, with Mr. Kula forced to travel using a folding manual chair, stripping away his personal mobility and independence for the trip.
This event has reignited sharp criticism from disability advocates regarding a broader pattern of accessibility failures by low-cost carriers and follows several other high-profile complaints against the airline, including an August 2025 incident where a quadriplegic toddler’s specialized €3,000 postural chair was left behind in Dublin and returned broken beyond repair, as well as a previous incident where a wheelchair user felt
