{"id":692,"date":"2026-04-28T21:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/692\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T21:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:24:11","slug":"wheelchair-user-calls-for-common-sense-after-fine-threat-for-using-accessible-zone-without-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/692\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheelchair user calls for ‘common sense’ after fine threat for using accessible zone without permit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disability advocate and wheelchair user Shane Hryhorec is calling for Adelaide Airport to use a common sense approach after being threatened with a fine for using an accessible pick-up zone without a permit.<\/p>\n

Mr Hryhorec posted a video on social media on Saturday of an interaction he had with an airport employee who told him he couldn’t be picked up from the designated area.<\/p>\n

In the video, which has had more than one million views, he said an employee told his mother not to pick him up in the airport’s disability parking permit zone without a permit and threatened her with a $400 fine.<\/p>\n

“At that point he was explaining to me that my mum was not allowed to pick me up in the wheelchair disability area even though I’m in a wheelchair with a service animal,” Mr Hryhorec said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Disability advocate Shane Hryhorec has called for Adelaide Airport to change its rules after being threatened with a fine for being picked up from a designated disability parking area. (ABC News: Marco Catalano)<\/p>\n

The designated area at the airport has signs which state it’s a parking area for disability permit holders.<\/p>\n

Mr Hryhorec said he understood that but more common sense was needed when being picked up by family or friends.<\/p>\n

“The reason why you have a disability parking permit is to prove you have a disability, but what more proof can you get? I\u2019m in a wheelchair,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Common sense prevails, doesn’t it?”<\/p>\n

He said the government only provided him with one permit, which was in his own car, and he couldn’t easily supply it to another driver before travelling.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite tricky because I just don’t know who’s going to be available to pick me up,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s impossible to have permits for every person that might come and collect me from the airport.”<\/p>\n

Advocate calls on airport to ‘change its rules’<\/p>\n

My Hryhorec, who travels frequently for his travel blog, said most of the time he has had positive experiences at Adelaide Airport.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A parking sign at the Adelaide Airport’s designated disability parking area. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

He said Saturday’s experience was a set back for all people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

“I felt for my mum having to be in the car with me and having to experience what it’s like, firsthand, to see your son being discriminated against,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So many other people have experienced this. This is not an isolated incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is not an isolated incident here in South Australia. It’s happening all around Australia. All around the world.”<\/p>\n

Mr Hryhorec said independence and dignity were important for people with disabilities that already faced enough challenges when travelling.<\/p>\n

\"Shane<\/p>\n

Shane Hryhorec frequently travels for his travel blog. (Supplied: Shane Hryhorec)<\/p>\n

He called on Adelaide Airport to “change its rules” and have “more empathy”.<\/p>\n

“Life with a disability is not easy, travelling with a disability is really, really hard,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We have enough barriers as there is without having to deal with situations like this just by getting dropped off and picked up from the airport.”<\/p>\n

He said the incident also showed how discrimination could impact other people in your life, and said his mum was quite rattled from the interaction and threatened with a $400 fine.<\/p>\n

“I’m hoping the airport doesn’t send us a $400 fine, but if they do I certainly will be appealing it.”<\/p>\n

Airport apologises for ‘frustration and distress’<\/p>\n

In a statement provided to the ABC, an Adelaide Airport spokesperson said investigations into the incident would continue but the airport already had some “clear actions we are taking now”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In a statement, an airport spokesperson apologised and said the incident is being investigated. (ABC News: Brant Cumming)<\/p>\n

“We apologise to Mr Hyrhorec and his mother for the frustration and distress caused,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“We have spoken to Mr Hryhorec to apologise personally and will shortly write to them both with a formal apology.”<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the permit system was in place to ensure that the area was only used for its intended purpose.<\/p>\n

“While neither Mr Hryhorec nor his mother had a disability parking permit yesterday, we acknowledge that we should have used our discretion to allow him to be picked up from the disability passenger pick-up area,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“We will be working with our team to ensure they have the support and training required to feel more confident in managing situations like this one in the future.<\/p>\n

“Adelaide Airport aims to create a positive, inclusive environment where every customer feels respected and supported.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disability advocate and wheelchair user Shane Hryhorec is calling for Adelaide Airport to use a common sense approach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[395,1142,1153,1410,1408,1409,1407],"class_list":{"0":"post-692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-adelaide","8":"tag-adelaide","9":"tag-adelaide-airport","10":"tag-disability-advocate","11":"tag-discrimination","12":"tag-parking","13":"tag-permit","14":"tag-shane-hryhorec"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}