Stories of disabled travellers taking matters into their own hands when effectively abandoned on aircraft are proving all too common, the latest involving a wheelchair user from Wicklow in Ireland who was forced to lower himself down the aeroplane steps when no-one came to help him disembark.

Adrian Keogh had arrived at Landvetter Airport in Sweden on Saturday when he was told it would be an hour before anyone would be available to assist him. When he asked were there any alternatives to the extended wait as he needed to use the toilet and was in some discomfort from the flight, he claimed that Ryanair staff told him he could crawl from the aircraft.

Refusing the offer of help from his brother who travelled with him, fearing that he could endanger both of them if he attempted to carry him, he instead went down the aircraft stairs on his backside.

Explaining why he refused his brother’s help, Mr Keogh said: “They were steep, corrugated steel steps. If he fell, we would have both been hurt so I had to bunny hop down myself. This is not the first time I’ve been stuck on a plane after everyone else has disembarked. It’s unacceptable – all I ask for is to be able to travel with dignity.”

The Airport apologised and said it “deeply regrets” Mr Keogh's experience, blaming “several unforeseen events” for the delay in assistance arriving at the aircraft. Ryanair said specialist assistance at Landvetter was courtesy of a third-party service provider and it was looking into the incident.