[UPDATED on Monday, Dec. 30 at 4:43pm: Emirates responded to Mothership queries]

Gemma Quinn, 35, is the British woman whose £15,000 (S$26,400) dream holiday was derailed after the back of her custom-made wheelchair was lost by Emirates airline.

As a result, Quinn, who is paralysed from the neck down due to a childhood car accident, ended up spending Christmas stranded in a hotel room in Singapore waiting for her wheelchair back to be found.

A woman who identified herself as Quinn's sister took to Facebook on Christmas Eve to share about the situation.

Sister fell out of makeshift chair

According to Gill Quinn, the solution that the Emirates staff proposed after they were unable to find Quinn's wheelchair back was to strap a pillow together with two belt buckles.

Gill claimed that the makeshift wheelchair resulted in Quinn falling out of the chair.

Fortunately, Gill says that Quinn's two carers were able to catch her before any serious damage was caused.

Devastated for her sister

Gill Quinn shared in the post that she was "devastated" for her sister, and characterised her as "one of the most generous, considerate and kind hearted people I know".

She also praised her sister's grit and willpower, saying:

"Gemma is paralysed from the neck down. She never uses her disability as a reason to stop her from appreciating new experiences and her will power and determination is something to be in awe of."

Gill explained that despite her sister's determination and grit, that day was the first time that she saw her down and helpless.

"It’s heartbreaking to hear such a determined spirit say that they want to come home and to feel this helpless and unable to find a solution for her."

She called out both Emirates airline and Trailfinders, a British travel company, for "taking [her sister's] Christmas away from her".

You can read her full post here:

Post on Emirates Facebook page

Gill shared the same post onto the Emirates Facebook page in the early hours of Christmas Day (Singapore time).

In response, Emirates replied to Gill's post with the following:

One Robert Jones pointed out that Emirates' comment reply did not seem to be a proportional response to an issue that, by that time, had already made national news.

Situation appears to be sorted out

Gill took to Facebook again later that day (Dec. 25), at 10:54pm Singapore Time, to announce that the situation had been handled.

In response to Mothership queries, Emirates confirmed that the missing part of the wheelchair was found in Dubai and transported to Singapore on Dec. 25, where it was handed over to Quinn.

An Emirates spokesperson said: “Our teams in Dubai and Singapore have made every effort to help Ms. Quinn and her family continue on their planned holiday, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience they have experienced.”

Top image via Gill Quinn / Facebook.