A subsidiary of All Nippon Airways Co. has apologized to a man paralyzed below the waist after it forced him to climb stairs on his own using only his arms to board a plane at Amami Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The flight's operator, Vanilla Air Inc., a low-cost carrier wholly owned by ANA Holdings Inc., issued the apology to Hideto Kijima, 44, and have since installed equipment to help disabled passengers board its aircraft, according to the airline and Kijima.

"Whatever the reason is, I felt as if they didn't want me on board," said Kijima, who used the budget carrier for a trip from Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture to Amami Airport on Amami-Oshima Island.