UPDATE: Former BBC editor Mark Mardell was left feeling “humiliated” after Turkish Airlines denied him boarding on a flight due to his Parkinson’s disease. The incident occurred on October 20, 2023, as Mardell was returning from Turkey with his son, Jake, 32, following a planned road trip.
Mardell, 68, had no issues flying out on Wizz Air, but upon attempting to return, airline staff demanded a doctor’s letter confirming he was fit to fly. “Let’s be clear: this isn’t about paperwork. It’s prejudice dressed up as policy,” Mardell expressed on Facebook. The sudden requirement left him stranded at the airport while his son was forced to take a separate flight home.
In a shocking moment, a female employee commented, “look at you, your hands are shaking,” highlighting a lack of understanding surrounding the condition. Mardell stated, “I feel so humiliated,” and described feeling vulnerable and nearly in tears multiple times during the ordeal. He clarified that his tremors were due to stress, not Parkinson’s.
With no assistance from the airline, an observant passenger helped him retrieve his luggage from a separate area of the airport. Jake subsequently arranged a hotel for Mardell and booked him on a Wizz Air flight for the following day, which required no medical documentation.
After arriving home, Mardell filed a complaint with Turkish Airlines. He recounted a staff member’s response wishing him a “speedy recovery,” despite the fact that Parkinson’s is incurable. The airline’s policy states that passengers with Parkinson’s must travel with a doctor’s report, a requirement challenged by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which deems such blanket policies unlawful for UK carriers.
The CAA asserts that medical proof can only be requested when there is “reasonable doubt” about a passenger’s ability to fly safely without assistance. However, enforcement of these rules does not extend to Turkish Airlines, which operates outside UK and EU regulations.
On Wednesday, Mardell received a phone call from the airline offering a full refund for his missed flight. This incident has sparked widespread criticism, prompting Caroline Rassell, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, to write to Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi. Rassell condemned the airline’s policy as “ill-informed” and “totally unnecessary,” rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the condition.
Mardell, who spent 25 years at the BBC as Europe and North America editor and hosted The World This Weekend on BBC Radio 4 before leaving in 2020, is now one of six presenters of the popular podcast Movers and Shakers, which documents life with Parkinson’s.
As this story continues to develop, the incident raises critical questions about airline policies regarding passengers with disabilities and the ongoing need for awareness and training within the aviation industry.
