Halifax Paralympian Hannah Cockcroft disgusted after alleged Qatar Airways wheelchair 'baggage' charge

A Paralympic athlete from Yorkshire has said she was 'absolutely disgusted' after claiming an airline charged her hundreds of pounds to take her wheelchair on board because it was 'classed as baggage'.
Paralympian Hannah Cockroft. PA.Paralympian Hannah Cockroft. PA.
Paralympian Hannah Cockroft. PA.

Hannah Cockroft MBE, from Halifax, spoke out against Qatar Airways on Sunday.

Using Twitter, the ten-time world champion wheelchair racer and Paralympic gold medallist said: “Travel agents got permission [for us] to travel our wheelchairs on the flight, [we] got to check in and [we were] told they won’t take it without a £700 extra charge, as our wheelchairs are classed as baggage too!”

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She went on to describe the alleged incident as “discrimination at its absolute best”.

Ms Cockroft, who has been contacted for further comment, was travelling with fellow athletes Nathan Maguire and Jack Agnew, but it is not clear which airport they were using or where they were travelling to.

A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said that “this matter has been forwarded to our Customer Care team for investigation.

“We are unable to comment any further at this time.”

Ms Cockroft, 26, won gold medals at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, racing in the T34 100m and 200m events.

She went on to also record gold in the 100m, 400m and 800m races at Rio in 2016.