This diagram shows how Hideto Kijima reportedly boarded his Vanilla Air flight at Amami Airport on June 5, 2017. (Mainichi)

Low-cost carrier Vanilla Air is in hot water after it told a paraplegic man he could not board an aircraft because he used a wheelchair and he ended up climbing the steps to the plane's entrance using only his arms, it has been learned.

The incident occurred at Amami Airport in the Kagoshima Prefecture city of Amami on June 5, when 44-year-old Hideto Kijima was told by Vanilla Air staff that if he could not climb the staircase, he could not board the aircraft. Kijima, who is paraplegic after a spinal injury incurred during rugby practice in high school, then took two to three minutes to climb the boarding staircase pulling himself one step at a time with his arms. The airline has apologized over the incident and promised to install facilities for wheelchair users to board their aircraft at Amami Airport.

According to Kijima, who is a representative of the website Barrier-Free Consulting Travel for All, which details examples of barrier-free facilities both in Japan and abroad, he was traveling with friends to Amami Oshima island from June 3 to 5. At Kansai International Airport on June 3, he was told when boarding the plane that he would have to deplane down a staircase when he arrived at Amami Airport, and that individuals who could not climb the staircase could not board the plane.

Kijima explained that his friends would help him navigate the stairs and boarded the aircraft at Kansai International Airport. When he arrived in Amami, his friends carried him in his wheelchair down the landing steps. However, when he was about to board his return flight on June 5, he was told by airport staff that carrying a person in a wheelchair down the steps had been against Vanilla Air regulations. It was then that he had to leave his wheelchair and pull himself up the steps one by one.

"If people who cannot walk are not allowed to board the plane, then are babies and the elderly also not allowed to board? I was surprised that the staff member didn't think that the company rules were absurd," Kijima recalled.

Hideto Kijima talks about his experience of climbing the steps to a Vanilla Air plane's entrance using only his arms, in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, on June 28, 2017. (Mainichi)

Not wanting any unfortunate incident of this kind to occur in the future, Kijima then consulted the Osaka Prefectural Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism about his experience. A representative of Vanilla Air apologized to Kijima for the inconvenience and explained how the company would handle future cases. "I'm glad that my action prompted them to make improvements," said Kijima. "I didn't want our chances to move around deprived of us."

Vanilla Air is a low-cost carrier under ANA Holdings Inc. According to the airline, carrying a person in a wheelchair or a wheelchair user up and down the stairs is against company regulations because it poses a risk for passenger injury. "When a customer using a wheelchair inquired ahead of time about our flight between Kansai International Airport and Amami Airport, they were not allowed to board the aircraft," a representative of the company stated. "Now a specialized stretcher has been introduced to improve service for those customers."

Other airlines have attendants that offer boarding and deplaning support. ANA utilizes a special lift device or a stretcher for passengers who use wheelchairs, and have attendants guide them once inside of the aircraft. "We make an effort to grasp the needs of a passenger when they reserve their ticket so we can offer the greatest amount of support possible," a representative from the public relations department of ANA explained.

The company has also set up consultation services for persons with disabilities at airports around the country that can even handle same-day services. Peach Aviation, another low-cost carrier operated by ANA Holdings, also has attendants that accompany passengers who need support all the way to the aircraft.