At the weekend I flew to Belfast for #LetWomenSpeak (more on that later). It was the first time I’d flown since being in the chair and I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve heard horror stories of help not being available and chairs being damaged in transit but I figured that a short, one-leg flight like Newcastle to Belfast would be less likely to end in disaster.

I didn’t have any problems at all. Both journeys went smoothly, even though the return flight was delayed.

In case you’re wondering, this is how it works (at least for Easyjet flights from Newcastle to Belfast and back).

I checked in as normal, although it’s anyone’s guess how the woman behind the big tall desk could see over it to match my face with my passport. I could have been anyone! Since I was travelling with my own chair, someone came running over to put a tag on it.

Then I was directed to the Special Assistance desk, which was nearby. They took my details and told me which gate to go to. I was taken through the priority security queue where the xrayed my carry-on as usual and swabbed me (presumably for drugs and explosives) and frisked me. I didn’t have to get out of the chair.

The gate was set up for Special Assistance. A few other passengers and I waited there until a kind of truck on scissors came to pick us up. I took my chair right into the truck, which drove to the plane and plugged itself into one of the doors. Then I left my chair at the plane door and got myself to my seat by hanging onto headrests. There was a special narrow wheelchair available in case I was unable to do that.

When I got to Belfast, I waited until the plane was empty, by which time the scissor truck was waiting with my chair already waiting. We were right by the gate so there was no need to drive. The truck just descended and I rolled off and was taken through a locked entrance and escorted to the public part of the airport. I was asked whether I needed help with ongoing transport, which I didn’t.

The trip home worked in almost exactly the same way, except that there was no dedicated Special Assistance gate. I was to wait at the normal gate for the flight where I’d be met by Special Assistance staff as boarding was announced and taken through a labyrinth to get on to the scissor truck. The only mildly stressful part of either journey was that the flight home was delayed and the gate changed, so I wasn’t sure whether to keep waiting where I was or move to the new gate. I moved to the new one, where the guy found me and got me onto the plane.

It was all really smooth and the staff were very helpful and obviously trained. They asked me what I was capable of rather than making assumptions. I’ve no doubt that a longer trip with multiple flights might raise a lot of different issues but I’m more confident about trying it one day, if the need ever arises.