Disabled passenger says he had to be helped off a plane by an 'embarrassed' pilot after airport staff failed to show up for 30 minutes

• An amputee was left stranded on a plane at Manchester Airport last month, Manchester Evening News reported.
• David Judd said nobody came to help for 30 minutes, so the pilot ended up escorting him off the plane.

A disabled passenger said he had to be helped off a plane by an "embarrassed pilot" after airport staff in Manchester, England, failed to show up for 30 minutes.

David Judd, a 54-year-old amputee who requires a wheelchair, landed in Manchester on June 18 with his wife after a holiday in Almería, Spain, the Manchester Evening News reported on Saturday. It is not clear what airline they were flying with.

Upon their arrival, Judd said he waited for up to 30 minutes until he realized that he had been forgotten about by the airport's special-assistance staff, who are responsible for helping disabled passengers.

"The pilot came out and said there were no stewardesses left. Then radioed saying there was a guy still here," Judd told Manchester Evening News.

Judd said that he was provided a wheelchair from under the plane, but there was no one to help him with the chair ⁠— so the pilot did.

"This was the pilot ⁠— the guy that flies a Boeing 737 and he was pushing me in a wheelchair. I thought, 'My God, how wrong is this?'" he told Manchester Evening News.

"He was so embarrassed, you could see it. You could really see it."

Judd, who had his lower left leg amputated in an accident in 2019, said he booked for special assistance at Manchester Airport prior to his flight. It is unclear whether he notified the airline about requiring special assistance.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson told Insider: "We were disappointed to hear of this passenger's experience when traveling through our airport.

"We will continue to work closely with all involved to ensure passengers requiring assistance receive the best service possible, and to understand how a repeat of this case will be avoided."

ABM Aviation, a third-party company responsible for providing assistance to disabled passengers at Manchester Airport, told Insider in a statement: "We always aim to deliver that service with efficiency, respect, and care and regret when passengers experience anything short of these standards.

"Learning from these moments, we are actively working with our teams, clients, and partners to implement efforts to minimize the impact on passengers as we navigate this phase of the pandemic recovery."

'As insignificant as anyone could possibly feel'

Judd told the Manchester Evening News that the experience left him feeling "completely insignificant" and that he is now seeking legal help.

"You could say it made me feel as insignificant as anyone could possibly feel," he said. "It's been five weeks and I've been angry all that time. But I can't be angry because this wasn't my doing — and this wasn't my fault — but it makes you feel like it's your fault you have your leg cut off."

As airports across Europe and the US continue to struggle with heightened demand and staff shortages, disabled passengers have been left particularly vulnerable.

Earlier this month, another disabled passenger on a Ryanair flight that had landed in London told Insider's Jyoti Mann that she was forced to wait an hour for assistance while staff cleaned the plane around her.

Another couple who landed at London's Gatwick Airport last month said they had to wait for their wheelchairs for 100 minutes — longer than their total flight time.