After disabled violinist Itzhak Perlman was abandoned by an Air Canada service employee at Pearson International Airport earlier this week, the Toronto Star has reported that Air Canada has since reached out to him to formally apologize.
(See original report here.)
An agent has confirmed that Mr. Perlman’s assistant had received an email from Marc-Andre Hotte, Air Canada’s director of VIP and global concierge services, expressing a personal apology and asked to co-ordinate a time to speak with Perlman directly.
In an email to the Toronto Star, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick stated: “This incident is disconcerting and does not reflect the policies Air Canada has in place to take care of customers with disabilities. We are looking into this situation and we have been in contact with the customer to discuss this matter and apologize.”
Perlman has since received a huge outpouring of support from his 883-thousand strong followers on his personal Facebook page.
This afternoon, Mr. Perlman made a public statement affirming:
“I would like to thank all of you who have expressed your support for the unfortunate incident I experienced during my recent travel through the Toronto airport. Hopefully the publicity surrounding this event will serve as a reminder that, while travel for everyone is difficult, for those of us with physical disabilities it can verge on the impossible. In the 50 plus years that I have been flying for work, I have learned that while infrastructure improvements (e.g., wheelchair availability, accommodations for those with sight or hearing impairments, etc…) are important, what matters most is the attitudes of those we encounter along the journey. Whether it is airline and airport employees or even fellow passengers, it is their judgment, patience and thoughtfulness (or lack thereof) that makes the difference between a tough trip and a horrendous one. Your expressions of concern have meant a great deal to me and disabled travelers everywhere. Thank you.”
Michael Vincent
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