South Africa’s national airline has apologised to Tyrone Pillay, the country’s medal-winning Paralympic shot-putter, after he was prevented from boarding a flight with his spare prosthetic leg, a spokesman has said. Pillay revealed on Twitter that a member of South African Airways (SAA) staff had stopped him boarding a connecting flight from Johannesburg to Durban, his hometown, while carrying his spare prosthesis. Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images“Terrible treatment of a Paralympic athlete as the staff refuse to allow my prosthetic leg on board,” he tweeted. Totally disrespectful.”He had been allowed to board an SAA flight from São Paulo to Johannesburg with his prosthetic leg as his carry-on luggage. Paralympic glory must not cover up harsh reality of daily struggles Read moreOn Wednesday, airline spokesman Tlali Tlali said the incident had “left all of us with a terrible aftertaste”.

Source: The Guardian September 21, 2016 12:11 UTC