Air Canada fined $97K after wheelchair user forced to drag himself off plane

GATINEAU, Que. — The Canadian Transportation Agency says it's issued a $97,500 penalty to Air Canada for violating the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations.

The penalty of $97,500 is for several violations of the regulations.

The agency says that on August 30, Air Canada failed to assist a wheelchair user to disembark its plane.

The passenger, who has spastic cerebral palsy and can't move his legs, was forced to disembark on his own.

As well, the CTA says Air Canada failed to ensure that its personnel periodically checked in on the passenger while he was waiting in the terminal.

Air Canada acknowledged in November that it violated Canadian disability regulations, and apologized to a British Columbia man who was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.

The Canadian Press