Recently in London, the world’s tallest and shortest women met — Indian national Jyoti Amge and Turkish woman Rumeysa Gelgi. While Jyoti can easily travel using any mode of transportation, the journey from Turkey to the UK and back was far more complicated for Rumeysa. Due to her exceptional height and spinal issues, she cannot board an aircraft and sit in a standard seat for several hours, so she has to travel lying down for the entire flight.
Rumeysa Gelgi stands at over 215 centimeters (over 7 feet tall). Her height isn’t the result of athletic training or giant relatives — she was born with Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes rapid bone growth. Because of her spinal condition, Rumeysa cannot sit for long periods and needs to lie down to relieve pressure on her back. This makes flying a real challenge.
“The only option for me was to fly on a stretcher as a passenger, which meant I had to lie down for the entire flight,” explained the world’s tallest woman.
This was only Rumeysa’s second flight ever and her second trip abroad. Her first international journey was to the United States, where she flew to San Francisco. For that 13-hour flight, she had to book six seats in a single row to lie across them the entire time.
For Jyoti Amge, the world’s shortest woman, air travel is much easier, but she faces a different set of daily challenges due to her size.
