500-pound man’s odyssey finally ends
LONDON — He has been turned down by planes, trains and even a cruise ship in his quest to return home — and his family says it’s because he has been deemed too fat to travel. Now Frenchman Kevin Chenais’ journey is coming to an end.
A ferry company accepted Chenais on Wednesday for a trip across the English Channel, one of the last obstacles to his homecoming in the French town of Ferney-Voltaire.
Chenais, who weighs 500 pounds, says he has been repeatedly refused transport over the past two weeks as he sought to get home. P&O Ferries offered to take him in his ambulance aboard the Spirit of Britain on Wednesday, the final hurdle keeping him from his home near the Swiss border.
“I am absolutely tired,” the 22-year-old said as he slumped over in his mobility scooter.
Chenais’ mother was outraged by the treatment her son allegedly received, saying he was discriminated against because of his weight.
“It’s not the fault of my son to be big. He has a genetic illness,” Christina Chenais said.
The odyssey began when British Airways refused to honour his return ticket from the United States, where he had been receiving medical care for a hormone imbalance. The airline acknowledges that it refused to let Chenais board the plane, but said confidentiality rules prevent it from saying why.
The airline insisted that it does not discriminate against customers for any reason and that the airline provides the option of an extra seat to people who contact them with concerns about seat width.
British Airways declined to say what the changes in circumstance had been.
Chenais said Carnival Cruises also rejected his request for a cabin on a transAtlantic voyage. The company declined to comment.
Virgin Atlantic airlines stepped in to fly him to London, where he had planned to take the Eurostar train home. But Eurostar refused to allow him on board because of safety rules governing travel through the Channel Tunnel: The high-speed train that connects England to France and Belgium requires all passengers to have the ability to be safely evacuated — and Chenais’ lack of mobility made that impossible.
Eurostar paid for the family’s hotel room and worked with P&O to find a solution.
“It’s difficult to imagine the frustration that this gentleman has gone through,” P&O spokesman Chris Laming said in a statement. “But for us, it’s very straight forward as we are set up to carry people who have medical needs.”