Fashion entrepreneur and CEO of Tiannah’s Place Empire, Toyin Lawani, has accused staff of British Airways of physically and verbally abusing her during a recent attempt to board a flight from Ghana to the United Kingdom.
In a detailed Instagram post, Toyin Lawani explained that she lives with a degenerative spine disease and has a spinal implant, which requires her to use a walking stick permanently and rely on wheelchair assistance at airports. She also disclosed that she has a trachea injury that affects her speech, making it difficult for her to raise her voice without physical distress.
According to her account, her British Airways flight was scheduled for 9:10 p.m., and she had already checked in online. She said she arrived at the check-in counter at exactly 7:40 p.m., where several passengers were still on the queue. However, she alleged that airline staff suddenly closed the counter and refused to attend to her, despite continuing to check in other passengers.
Lawani stated that when she and her team questioned the decision, the staff were rude, dismissive, and ignored her explanations about her medical condition. She further alleged that one staff member secretly checked in another passenger nearby and aggressively snapped the person’s boarding pass.
The situation reportedly escalated when the staff noticed they were being recorded. Lawani claimed the staff member began shouting aggressively and threatened to ensure she would not be allowed to travel, even if she rebooked her ticket.
She added that although a video evidence was deleted at the request of another passenger whose face appeared in it, airport CCTV footage should clearly show what transpired. Lawani ended her post by calling the incident unacceptable and demanding accountability from British Airways.