Two handicapped Chinese men are suing a Chinese budget airline for not allowing them to board their flight last November, because they were deemed 'unable' to fly without being accompanied.

The lawyer for the two men, who are both paralyzed from the waist down, said that the case against Juneyao Airlines wasn't only fighting for the two men who were denied flights, but also for the rights of more than 85 million handicapped Chinese people, according to Thepaper.cn.

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The two men, surnamed Zhan and Sheng, bought their flight tickets on Nov. 14 last year. They were heading to Dalian in Liaoning province after attending an event held in Sanya, Hainan Island.

After arriving at the airport five days later, they were told that they will not be allowed to fly without being accompanied by others. Both men told airline staff that they can travel on their own, based on their previous experiences.

The airline staff, however, canceled both their flight tickets and instead refunded their money, stating the reason is because the passengers were “accompanied by none and couldn't travel on their own.”

The staff added that even if the two men did not agree, the refund has been made effective since then.

Because there were no more flights to Dalian on that day, the two men then bought tickets to Beijing via Air China. They stayed a night there before boarding the train to Dalian.

The lawyer, who represented Juneyao, said the airline company was willing to give generous compensation to both passengers. However, Juneyao declined the passengers' request for a formal apology.

China's aviation regulations require airlines to provide the best care to handicapped passengers, so that they will enjoy the same rights to air travel as able-bodied people.

TagsJuneyao Airlines, airline, airplane, flight