This week, the world’s tallest woman reached a new height by taking her first trip by air.
25-year-old Rumayesi Gelgi, who holds the World Guinness Book of Records title of the tallest woman on earth for her 2.15-meter (7 ft 0.7 in) height, had her first flight with the help of Turkish Airlines which recently broke its occupancy record.
The Airline turned six seats on the plane into a stretcher to enable her to fly.
Gelgi is a software developer and lives with Scoliosis and Weaver Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterised by rapid growth, she typically gets around by a wheelchair but sometimes can walk short distances.
Gelgi was traveling to the US to collaborate with Guinness for an event in the North American country.
She couldn’t hide her excitement and told reporters at the Istanbul Airport that she was excited to travel by air for the first time and that the flight was important for patients like her that needed a stretcher.
Rumayesi Gelgi said,
“This will be my first flight as well as my first travel overseas. But I believe this experience will be a first for many individuals, not just me. Because, as you know, the option of traveling as a stretcher passenger is generally reserved for patients who are being transferred from one intensive care unit to another.”
She further stressed the point by saying: “It is an alternative for patients who are referred from one hospital to another and need an ambulance. However, I had to fly on a stretcher because I couldn’t sit for lengthy periods of time due to my scoliosis or spine curvature disorder.”
Gelgi lives in Turkiye, as well as the world’s tallest man, and she is using her Guinness World Book of Records title to advocate and create awareness of both Weaver Syndrome and Scoliosis.
