Influencer Jaelynn Chaney has previously said plus-sized passengers should be provided with an ‘extra free seat, or even multiple seats, to accommodate their needs’
A plus-size travel influencer claims an airport worker refused to push her wheelchair in an act of discrimination against her weight.
Jaelynn Chaney told TikTok that her ordeal at SeaTac airport “will shock you”. The Vancouver 27-year-old said she requested wheelchair assistance on her flight but the employee assigned to her walked away when she realised Jaelynn was plus-sized, the influencer claimed.
Although Jaelynn can walk, she usually requests wheelchair access. The social media star, who has previously started petitions for better conditions for plus-sized flyers, said she was left breathless walking up “one of the longest jet bridges I’ve ever encountered.”
READ MORE: Mum of four tragically crushed by falling tree amid devastating Texas storms
She added: “Even when I told her I really needed the chair and needed her to let me sit down in it she blatantly ignored me and kept walking. I was then forced to walk up one of the longest jet bridges I’ve encountered and she didn’t stop.”
Jaelynn, who has over 135,000 followers on the platform, said the move was “discrimination” adding, “Staying silent isn’t an option anymore. If you’ve faced something similar, you’re not alone.
“Discrimination is real, and I don’t want anybody else to ever experience something like this.” One commenter said: “I’m so sorry honey”. Another commented: “Sending positivity! No one should be discriminated against for their body or abilities.”
Last year, travel and body positivity influencer Jaelynn hit the headlines for starting a petition to the US Federal Aviation Authority to protect plus-sized travellers. In the letter she said that bigger-than-average passengers should be provided with an “extra free seat, or even multiple seats, to accommodate their needs and ensure their comfort and safety, as well as those around them, during the flight”.
In the latest TikTok she also mentioned this was her first time flying without oxygen, whilst showing her followers the seatbelt extensions she had been given. She said in the past she had needed supplemental air to ensure she could breathe in the pressurised plane cabin.
Jaelynn also makes a point of asking and debunking the questions and concerns plus-seize travellers might have, saying: “What if I have a medical emergency on the plane? What if I cause an emergency landing? No, forget that. No matter what they say, and no matter what it looks like, travel is for everybody.”
In the caption of her TikTok, she explained why she used to need oxygen when flying. She said: “It all started back in 2019 after a hospital stay where they suspected I had a stroke. Turns out, it was pulmonary hypertension, and I needed oxygen therapy ever since. Travelling just wasn’t the same anymore.”
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US.
“I shared my discoveries online, thinking this was going to be my new normal …But guess what? I did it, and it went better than I could’ve imagined. The Change.org petition Jaelynn created demands that the FAA protects plus-size travellers now has over 39,000 signatures.
On the petition page, she wrote: “Air travel should be comfortable and accessible for everyone, regardless of size. As plus-size travellers, my partner and I have unfortunately experienced discrimination and discomfort while flying.”
