British Paralympic Association support athlete after claims she was forced to "drag herself" from Qatar Airways flight

Claire Harvey claimed she was forced to "drag herself" from the plane after a Qatar Airways flight ©Getty Images

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) has admitted it is “very disappointing” to hear athlete Claire Harvey's claim that she had to "drag herself" from a Qatar Airways flight.

Harvey had been part of the 48-strong British team at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships in Qatar’s capital city Doha, which took place between October 21 and 31, where she placed fifth in the women’s F55 shot put and eighth in the discus.

The former sitting volleyball player was forced to withdraw from the F56 javelin due to a shoulder injury.

Harvey, who lost the use of her legs after a spinal cord injury, has alleged that following her flight to London on Qatar Airways, the official carrier of the Championships, she had been instructed to get off by a steward despite a lack of an aisle wheelchair.

"[I asked] how do you expect me to do that?” Harvey told BBC’s Radio 4's You and Yours programme.

"He started to manhandle me and said I had to get to the front of the plane, bearing in mind I was 49 rows back.

"I was dragging myself to the front of the plane with him behind me pushing me to go faster."

Claire Harvey competed in discus and shot put events but was forced to withdraw from the javelin due to a shoulder injury ©Getty Images

Harvey also claimed her wheelchair was damaged following the flight.

The airline have said they are investigating the incident.

“It seems the staff did not behave in a way that we would expect and appear not to have had knowledge of best practice when it comes to the treatment of disabled passengers,” a BPA spokesperson told insidethegames.

“Claire is a very active, independent individual, who travels regularly and therefore was understandably shocked by her experience.

“Three years on from the London 2012 Paralympic Games, we believe that experiences like Claire’s should be the exception rather than the normal, and we share Claire’s expressed view that the airline should invest in better training and education for its staff to ensure that other disabled people do not have a similar experience.”

Qatar Airways told BBC Radio 4 they were “proud to have been the official carrier for the 2015 Championships, and had transported more than 1,000 athletes to and from the Games”.

They promised they would contact Harvey following their investigation.

A British Athletics spokesperson also confirmed they would discuss the incident with the airline.

“We have been made aware of the issue and we will be in close contact with the athlete to gather all the relevant information," a spokesman told insidethegames.

“We take the welfare of athletes around Championships very seriously and we will continue discussions with the airline.”