URGENT UPDATE: Former BBC editor Mark Mardell has revealed he was left “humiliated” when Turkish Airlines denied him boarding due to his Parkinson’s disease. The shocking incident occurred on October 20, 2023, as Mardell attempted to return from Turkey after a road trip with his son.
Mardell, 68, had no issues flying out on Wizz Air but was abruptly blocked from boarding his return flight. Airline staff demanded a doctor’s letter confirming he was fit to fly, a requirement that was never communicated to him prior to his arrival at the airport. With no assistance, Mardell found himself stranded as his son was forced to take a separate flight home.
“Let’s be clear: this isn’t about paperwork. It’s prejudice dressed up as policy,” Mardell stated on Facebook. He expressed deep frustration, stating, “It’s ignorant, insulting, and frankly medieval.” The airline employee even made a remark about his shaking hands, which Mardell clarified were due to stress, not Parkinson’s symptoms.
Feeling vulnerable and distressed, Mardell shared how he nearly burst into tears multiple times during the ordeal. He said, “I feel so humiliated,” highlighting the emotional toll of the situation. Fortunately, a compassionate passenger assisted him in retrieving his luggage from a different part of the airport.
Mardell’s son, Jake, later arranged a hotel for his father and secured a spot on a Wizz Air flight for the following day, which required no medical documentation. After safely returning home, Mardell filed an official complaint with Turkish Airlines. In a disheartening response, an employee wished him a “speedy recovery,” despite the fact that Parkinson’s disease is incurable.
According to Turkish Airlines’ website, passengers with Parkinson’s are required to present a doctor’s report stating they can safely travel by plane. However, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) asserts that such a blanket policy is unlawful. The CAA specifies that medical proof can only be requested when there is “reasonable doubt” about a passenger’s ability to fly safely, a regulation that the CAA cannot enforce on non-UK or EU carriers like Turkish Airlines.
In a recent development, Mardell announced that the airline reached out to him, offering a full refund for his missed flight. The incident has sparked widespread criticism, prompting Caroline Rassell, CEO of Parkinson’s UK, to write to Turkish Airlines’ CEO Bilal Eksi, condemning the “ill-informed” and “totally unnecessary” policy, which she claims stems from a significant misunderstanding of the condition.
Mardell, a veteran journalist from Banstead, Surrey, spent 25 years at the BBC, serving as the Europe and North America editor and hosting The World This Weekend on BBC Radio 4 before leaving in 2020. He is now one of six presenters of the popular podcast “Movers and Shakers,” which chronicles life with Parkinson’s.
Stay tuned for further updates as this story develops and the public reacts to this troubling incident.