Ex-BBC presenter diagnosed with Parkinson's 'turned away from Turkish Airlines flight' for not having GP letter

The ex-Radio 4 host, who revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis three years ago, claims he spent seven hours stranded at the airport following the ordeal.

"Let be clear: this isn’t about paperwork. It’s prejudice dressed up as policy," he wrote in a post to social media.

"It’s ignorant, insulting, and frankly medieval. Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological condition on the planet.

"If you think that means we shouldn’t be allowed on planes, you’ve got a problem — and it’s not neurological."

Mr Mardell had taken the trip to Istanbul with his son, Jake, and had requested assistance from the airline to board the plane, which he said had "never been a problem" with other airlines.

"They told us I couldn’t board without a doctor’s letter," the post added.

"At first I thought they wanted proof that I had Parkinson’s, which was absurd enough.

"But no — the letter had to say I was safe to fly. Apparently, Turkish Airlines has decided that people with Parkinson’s are a danger to themselves or others."

The 68-year-old told The Times he "nearly burst into tears about five times" over the incident.

After being refused from the flight and left alone in the airport after his son had caught a flight elsewhere, Mr Mardell was eventually offered help by another passenger to track down his luggage, which he was reunited with seven hours later.

He was forced to rebook a flight back to Gatwick and spend the night in a hotel "stranded".

The father-of-three claims he has complained to Turkish Airlines, including writing to its CEO Bilal Ekşi, but has so far only received a "brief message" from the firm wishing him a "speedy recovery" - despite there currently being no cure for Parkinson's.

Turkish Airline states on its website: "Passengers who have Parkinson's disease are admitted to the flight with a doctor's report stating that 'There is no harm in traveling by plane'."

The CEO of Parkinson's UK, Caroline Rassell, has written to Mr Ekşi to express her "concern" at the airline's "ill-informed policy".

"There are 166,000 people across the UK who live with Parkinson’s and I’m concerned about their ability to travel with your airline," she wrote.

"I’d like to hear how you will commit to supporting people with Parkinson’s in future.

"I was recently made aware of an incident involving Mark Mardell, a person with Parkinson’s who was humiliated by your staff, after being barred from boarding a flight with your airline.

"Your airline has an ill-informed policy that people who live with Parkinson’s must have a doctor’s note stating that there is no harm for them to travel by plane.

"This is totally unnecessary and based on a misunderstanding of this condition. People with Parkinson’s may experience altered speech or movement. However, they are perfectly capable of managing their condition and travelling independently.

"The ordeal left Mr Mardell feeling humiliated and isolated. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else with Parkinson’s."

GB News has contacted Turkish Airlines for comment.