Disgraceful Treatment of Elderly Passenger With Mobility Challenges – Missed Flight and Emotional Distress

Dear Gautrain and FlySafair Customer Service,

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the unacceptable and deeply distressing treatment my family and I received on 15 May 2026 while traveling through Gautrain to catch FlySafair flight FA382.

I was traveling with my elderly mother, who has mobility and cognitive challenges and required wheelchair assistance to reach the FlySafair check-in area. Gautrain staff refused to assist us, repeatedly stating that they were “not allowed” to wheel passengers to FlySafair check-in. At the same time, no FlySafair wheelchair assistance was available when we urgently needed it.

What made this experience even more shocking was the complete lack of compassion shown toward my mother. Staff watched us struggling while we were clearly under pressure and trying to make our flight to attend a funeral in the Eastern Cape. My mother even fell in front of Gautrain staff, yet there was still no urgency, empathy, or willingness to assist us properly. Instead, we were made to feel like a burden and treated with complete disregard and humiliation.

It felt as though the wheelchair was being guarded as if we intended to ***** it, rather than being used to assist an elderly passenger in distress. The treatment we received was inhumane, degrading, and completely unbecoming of services that claim to accommodate elderly passengers and people living with disabilities or mobility challenges.

As a direct result of this failure and lack of coordination between Gautrain and FlySafair:

We missed our flight. We suffered emotional distress during an already painful time. We were forced to take a 15-hour bus trip to the Eastern Cape for a funeral.

This was not merely an inconvenience. It was a traumatic and exhausting experience that could have been avoided with basic compassion, communication, and proper accessibility support.

I request the following:

A formal explanation as to why wheelchair assistance was denied. Clarification of Gautrain and FlySafair accessibility policies regarding elderly passengers and those with mobility or cognitive challenges. An explanation of why no alternative assistance was offered after my mother fell. Details on what corrective measures will be implemented to ensure other vulnerable passengers are not treated this way. Consideration of compensation for the missed flight, emotional distress, and additional travel costs we incurred.

Accessibility and dignity are basic human rights. Elderly passengers and people with disabilities should never be treated as though they are inconveniences. Gautrain and FlySafair can and must do better.

I look forward to your urgent response and resolution to this matter.

Sincerely,