10-year-old’s custom-built wheelchair damaged during easyJet flight

A man has shared footage of the damage caused to his son’s £11,000 wheelchair during an easyJet flight from Milan to Lisbon.

Barnabe Freixo says he and his 10-year-old son Zorion, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, are “distraught” now it has been rendered unusable.

Mr Freixo claims the luggage handlers - who he showed how to safely store the chair at Milan Malpensa Airport before boarding - had attempted to take wheels off and in turn, broke the electrical connectors that make the chair move.

He has been in contact with the airline, but says no action has been taken to resolve the issue.

EasyJet provided the following comment to The Independent: “We are urgently investigating the damage to Mr Freixo’s son’s wheelchair with our ground handling partners in Milan and Lisbon and are very sorry for the difficulty this will cause the family. We are in contact with the family to apologise for their experience and provide assistance to resolve this for them.”