Three weeks before his wedding, Robert Pynedived off a boat into shallow water, broke his neck and became a quadriplegic.

Almost 15 years later, Mr Pyne's plans to take his wife on their long-postponed honeymoon have been thwarted by Qantas's refusal to transport his electric wheelchair on a flight from Sydney to Hobart.

The Cairns resident, who is chairman of the Far North Queensland Regional Disability Council, booked a flight to Hobart for November, to coincide with a national conference on education and employment for the disabled.

Last month Qantas told Mr Pyne it could fly him to Sydney but his wheelchair was too big to be allowed on the Boeing 737 flying to Hobart.

A Qantas frequent flyer, Mr Pyne has flown on Boeing 737s before and said he did not understand why his travel on the narrow-bodied aircraft was now restricted.

"My chair is one of the smallest on the market, and if I can't fly there would be a lot of others who couldn't as well," he said. "I have always flown with Qantas. Now I feel discriminated against."

Australian airlines have been criticised recently by disability rights groups.

In July, the Department of Transport and Regional Services convened a meeting of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, airlines, government departments and disability groups to resolve discrepancies between the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport and the airlines' occupational health and safety policies.

Mr Pyne's motorised chair, when assembled, is 58 centimetres wide and 95 centimetres high.

Since February, Qantas has limited wheelchairs carried on 737s to 112 centimetres wide and 84 centimetres high.

Before then, Mr Pyne's chair, which is worth $5000, was stowed on its side in the luggage hold, folded and with the batteries removed.

The chairman of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Maurice Corcoran, said Mr Pyne's chair should be allowed on the flight.

"In Robert's case, where the battery can be taken out and the chair can be folded down, it is a reasonable expectation that he would be allowed to fly," he said.

"This is worrying for a whole range of people around Australia. There is a lot of confusion and inconsistencies in the way people with a disability are being treated by these airlines."

A spokesman for Qantas said the airline changed its mobility aid policy last year.

"There are constraints based on safety requirements which relate to different types of mobility aids, electric or manual, on certain aircraft types," he said.

"We have been in regular contact with Mr Pyne regarding his booking and will continue to do everything possible to accommodate his needs."