Para Snooker Player Refused Whizz Air Flight Over Weight Of Hoist

For most passengers, arriving at an airport with a few hours to spare is enough preparation for a flight. For disabled travellers, the journey can involve far more planning: arranging assistance, declaring specialist equipment, checking dimensions and weights, and contacting the airline well before departure.

For para-snooker player Matthew Lester, even that level of preparation was not enough.

Lester, from Doncaster, was travelling to Bulgaria for the World Disability Billiards and Snooker European Championship when he was stopped at Luton Airport after airline staff raised concerns about the weight of his travel hoist.

The result was more than a frustrating airport delay. Lester missed his flight and was forced to rearrange his opening matches at the tournament.

Months of preparation, hours of frustration

Lester says he is experienced when it comes to travelling with his wheelchair and specialist equipment. He had notified Wizz Air about his requirements after booking his ticket and contacted the airline’s accessibility department.

When he received no response for two weeks, he called the airline. According to Lester, he was reassured that his wheelchair and hoist had been recorded on the booking.

He had also prepared detailed information about his equipment, including its dimensions and weight, something he says he routinely does before flying.

Yet when he arrived at Luton Airport on 19 September, around three hours before departure, he was reportedly told that his hoist was too heavy.

What followed was a lengthy attempt to resolve the problem. Lester says he spent around five hours trying to find a solution, eventually missing his flight.

He and his carer were subsequently rebooked onto the next available flight at no additional cost, according to Wizz Air.

The bigger issue behind one missed flight

For Lester, however, the problem goes beyond one journey.

He has previously experienced difficulties travelling with specialist mobility equipment. In 2025, he reportedly waited five weeks for approval to take his electric wheelchair on a flight to Thailand.

His latest experience has led him to question why disabled passengers can still face such obstacles despite following the procedures airlines require.

The central issue is simple: what happens when a passenger does everything they are told to do, but the system still fails them?

Travelling with a disability can require an extraordinary level of preparation. Equipment has to be declared, measurements provided and assistance arranged in advance. A passenger can do everything correctly and still arrive at the airport unsure whether the information provided weeks earlier has actually reached the staff handling their journey.

That uncertainty can make air travel exhausting.

Airlines acknowledge the need for improvement

Wizz Air has apologised to Lester and said it takes the needs of passengers requiring special assistance “extremely seriously”.

The airline said it was reviewing its processes to identify improvements and prevent similar situations in the future. It also acknowledged that Lester’s experience fell short of the service standard it aims to provide.

The response highlights an important distinction: accessibility is not simply about having policies in place. Those policies need to work consistently at every stage of a passenger’s journey.

An accessibility request that is successfully submitted online is of little use if airport staff do not have the correct information when the passenger arrives.

Why experiences like this matter

Lester’s story is particularly striking because travelling is an essential part of his sporting career.

For elite and competitive disabled athletes, mobility equipment is not an optional extra. Wheelchairs, hoists and other specialist equipment can be fundamental to their ability to participate.

But the wider lesson extends beyond sport.

Disabled people should not have to choose between travelling and accepting a complicated, uncertain process every time they board a plane. Nor should passengers have to become experts in airline procedures simply to make sure their essential equipment is accepted.

Lester’s experience raises questions about how effectively airlines communicate accessibility requirements, how information is transferred between departments and whether existing procedures work in practice rather than simply on paper.

A journey that should be easier

Lester was ultimately able to reach Bulgaria and compete, but only after rearranging his tournament schedule.

His experience is a reminder that accessibility is measured not only by whether a passenger eventually reaches their destination, but by the obstacles they encounter along the way.

For disabled travellers, reliable access means being able to plan with confidence and trust that arrangements made in advance will be respected when they reach the airport.

Air travel is already stressful enough. For passengers who depend on specialist equipment, a failure in communication can turn a routine journey into hours of uncertainty—and potentially force them to miss the very event they travelled to attend.

The challenge for airlines is therefore not simply to apologise when something goes wrong. It is to make sure that the systems designed to prevent these problems work when passengers need them most.