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A Brisbane couple is disappointed with Jetstar's communication systems after hearing nothing for weeks following a fall from the steps of a plane, which resulted in serious injury.
Regular travellers Maree and Guy* were travelling home from Canberra in early September aboard a Jetstar flight on a particularly windy afternoon when Guy fell on the second last step of the staircase while disembarking.
"He rolled, quite literally, onto the tarmac and there was a flurry of panic," Maree told ABC Brisbane.
The ground crew offered to call them a taxi and suggested they go home, but Maree insisted on calling an ambulance so they could go straight to the hospital.
There, they were told Guy had cracked four ribs and sprained his wrist — he was in hospital for four nights.
"He also had bruised legs and cuts on his hands and knees," Maree said.
Maree said she was told Jetstar would follow up with the incident, but did not hear back from the airline until the ABC got in contact.
"It's about the occupational health and safety issues that need to be discussed with Jetstar," she said.
"We should have had some form of liaison ... It could have been much worse."
Jetstar acknowledges it should have contacted injured man directly
When contacted by the ABC on Friday, a Jetstar spokesperson said the airline was "very sorry" to hear about Guy's injuries and wished him a speedy recovery.
"Guy booked his flight through a travel agent and our team contacted the agent to check on his welfare," the spokesperson said.
"We acknowledge we should have contacted Guy directly and sincerely apologise.
"We are reaching out to Guy today and the team member involved will be given further training."
Shine Lawyers' Carla Melbourne said Maree and Guy's experience with Jetstar not following up after the injury wasn't uncommon.
"Unfortunately, big corporations not getting back to people is something that we see a lot," she told ABC Radio Brisbane.
"Their bedside manner when these incidents occur can be quite poor."
Passengers should know their rights
Ms Melbourne said people who have been injured in transit at airports have certain rights in such situations.
"They should investigate those rights quite quickly because there are some really strict time frames that apply," she told ABC Brisbane.
She advised people with a potential claim to seek legal advice.
Maree said she and Guy were not seeking any kind of compensation but would like to see improvement in the airline's chains of communication.
"It shouldn't have to be like this," she said.
Maree and Guy's story comes after former Queenslander of the Year and disability advocate Dr Dinesh Palipana was tipped out of his wheelchair by a Virgin Australia ground crew staff member at Brisbane Airport this week.
Dr Palipana was flying from Brisbane to Melbourne to give a talk on disability and inclusion when the incident occurred, and said the staff member ignored his carers' directions.
Virgin Australia said it had apologised to Dr Palipana and had launched an investigation into the incident.
*Names changed for privacy