At Gothenburg Airport (Landvetter) on April 29, 2023, an Irish passenger would have had to wait around an hour for his PRM service after landing. Given the fact that it was already 23:00 PM, he preferred to crawl down the stairs.

The low-cost airline Ryanair actually boasts of particularly short turnaround times. At some airports it takes less than 25 minutes to get on and off and to load luggage. Thus, the low coster should have had absolutely no interest in the machine being "stuck" for an hour because the commissioned PRM service was not able to appear at the machine on time.

The crew was informed that it will be at least an hour before the wheelchair user can be picked up. The crew would have accepted a delay for him and waited with him. But the Irishman didn't want that, because he decided to crawl down the passenger stairs rather than wait so long for the PRM service at Gothenburg Airport to pick him up.

The case made quite a splash in the UK and Ireland. "This isn't the first time I've been stuck on a plane after everyone else has already got off. This is unacceptable. All I ask is that I can travel with dignity," the 37-year-old criticized the BBC's handling of wheelchair users.

The affected airline Ryanair wants to investigate the incident closely. It is emphasized that the PRM service was duly registered and the handling company should have provided this service for the low-cost airline. Incidentally, airlines are obliged to carry out PRM services free of charge. This is required by law within the European Union.

"Due to several unforeseen events, the assistance service at the airport was affected by longer waiting times and did not meet our usual standard of service, although airport procedures were followed. As a result, the assistance service was delayed but was by no means 'forgotten'. We apologize again for the inconvenience caused to the passenger," said a media officer from Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport.