Trips back to Pakistan are precious to the Qasim family, who have lived in Melbourne for the past eight years.

Photos from their most recent visit show beaming aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents, enjoying rare family time together.

“It was a much-needed holiday that we had to have because family was missing us, and we were missing our family,” father Syed Qasim said.

“And the kids haven’t seen their grandparents and uncles and aunties for a long time.”

But this trip nearly didn’t go ahead.

The Qasim family’s nine-year-old son, Mustufa, has cerebral palsy and cannot sit without assistance.

Around a month before the holiday, the family emailed the airlines they’d be travelling with — Oman Air and Qatar Airways — to coordinate what Mustufa would need.

This included refrigeration for his food, and the use of a harness to help him sit upright on the plane.

They had booked with Oman Air, who were “code-sharing” with Qatar Airways — whose planes would carry the family for the Melbourne-Doha and Doha-Melbourne legs of the flight.

Mustufa had travelled internationally before and they didn’t expect any problems.

“We were expecting some questions being asked, obviously, that’s pretty normal … but after providing responses to those questions … we were just like, expecting a go-ahead from the airline,” Syed said.

“I was expecting that even if my request won’t be approved, they would have some alternative,” Mustufa’s mother Afsheen added.

But after multiple calls and emails between them —  and less than 24 hours before their Christmas Day departure — Qatar Airways told the family they wouldn’t approve the use of their harness for the flights from Melbourne to Doha, on safety grounds.

They did not offer any alternative arrangements, and said Mustufa would need to “occupy a normal aircraft seat” to fly.

Thousands spent re-booking holiday after last minute knockback

Mr Qasim said he felt he had no choice but to cancel the flights for all five family members.

“It was frustrating. Afsheen was just literally crying and the kids were frustrated because they wanted to go,” he said.

Afsheen said the delay in being given a definitive answer added to her stress.

“You could imagine the frustration of going through that process, when you are not sure till the last moment you are cleared or you won’t be cleared at all,” she said.

Desperate to salvage the holiday, Mr Qasim went online and booked new flights with another airline for December 27, using $14,000 of his savings.

“I really don’t want to do that,” he said.

“But [I had] no options left. It’s 24 hours before our departure. We have got everything packed. We have booked the taxi and everything.”

Syed said once he provided all the same details to the new airline, it worked with the family to find a solution to enable Mustufa to fly.

“I booked a flight on 25th and we travelled on the 27th, so within two days, they just sort everything out,” he said.

“They asked for one additional harness, which is okay, which Qatar never asked for.”

They sourced the extra device and took both with them, but ended up using the original harness on all their flights.

Mr Qasim said he still had not received any refund of his original fares, and was expecting to lose up to 70 per cent of the cost, about $7,000, under the fare rules for the late cancellation.

Qatar Airways told the ABC that as Mr Qasim had used a travel agent to book flights with Oman Air, they were unable to issue a refund.

‘Frustratingly common’ challenges faced by travellers with disability

The CEO of Physical Disability Australia, Jeremy Muir, said the family’s experience was frustratingly common.

“If you went to the airlines and asked them what their rules were, they would probably clearly state that they ensure that every passenger is treated equally,” Mr Muir said.

“But on the ground it doesn’t always happen that way.”

Mr Muir said the rules could be inconsistent.

“Once you’re in that airline’s hands, it’s like you’re in their country, so the rules and the attitudes and the standards may vary,” he said.

Last year the federal government released an Aviation White Paper which detailed the challenges faced by air travellers with a disability.

The paper committed to new aviation-specific disability standards and an ombudsman to investigate complaints.

Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess said she was hopeful of change, but that it needed to go beyond check-in, booking and travel procedures.

“What people with disability are really fighting is the lack of inclusion in design of aircraft and the way long-haul travel and airline travel domestically operates,” she said.

Ms Kayess wants people with a disability to be closely involved in the process of making air travel more accessible.

“It’s also about the airline industry…from designers and manufacturers of airlines, through to cabin staff and ground staff, [to] understand that there is a broad array of the human condition,” she said.

In a statement to the ABC, federal Transport Minister Catherine King acknowledged the “distressing incident” the Qasim family had described. 

“As a government we are committed to an accessible aviation sector that protects the rights of people with disability,” she said.

Support policies up in the air as Qatar expands Australian presence

In a statement, Qatar Airways told the ABC that their team had “worked on identifying an alternative solution, including the use of on-board CRD (Child Restraint Device) equipment,” for Mustufa to fly, “but were unable to find a suitable option which met our minimum safety requirements”.

Oman Air did not respond to the ABC’s questions by deadline.

The Australian government this week approved Qatar Airways acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in Virgin Australia.

In light of the partnership, the ABC asked Virgin what assistance it provided to passengers with a disability and whether Qatar Airways would be required to follow the same procedures.

A spokesperson for Virgin referred the ABC to its website, which detailed Virgin’s policy around mobility assistance, including a list of several pre-approved support devices for people with a disability.

The list includes the devices used by Mustufa.

It is unclear whether Qatar will need to adopt the same policy on code-share flights with Virgin.

Jeremy Muir believes Virgin should ensure their new partner adheres to the same rules.

“I think Virgin have to look closely [at] partnering with an airline that has in the past shown what we would call discriminatory practices,” Mr Muir said. 

The disability commissioner said everyone had the right to fly, particularly in a country like Australia.

“It’s a vast country, and essentially, because we’re an island, if we want to go anywhere, we have to leave the country, and it’s a long way across the Pacific, and it’s a long way across the country,” she said.

Afsheen Qasim said she hoped no one else had to go through the same experience.

“This shouldn’t be the process for families who are already travelling with a stressful situation, that you have a son who needs special care,” she said.