The world is largely designed with the average-sized person in mind, leaving those who are either much shorter or significantly taller to navigate a space that often feels ill-suited to their needs. For Rumeysa Gelgi, officially recognized as the world’s tallest woman, manoeuvring through in the world is particularly challenging.
In a video shared by Guinness World Records (GWR), Rumeysa Gelgi documented her journey with Turkish Airlines and shared her excitement about traveling to the United States and the United Kingdom. The caption on the Instagram post read, “How does the world’s tallest woman travel and visit her friends? Turkish Airlines facilitated Rumeysa Gelgi’s flight for her recent adventures to the US and UK.” The airplanes had to remove six chairs to accommodate the stretcher on which Gelgi was lying.
In the video, Rumeysa Gelgi can be seen boarding the plane while lying on a stretcher, supported by the airline staff. During the video she said, “I am literally so excited, my heart beats fast. Because of my spine condition, I had to fly on this stretcher. It was great, it was really comfortable. The entire crew and the chef surprised me with a stunning chocolate cake. This was so kind, so lovely, it made me emotional to be honest."
Credit: Instagram/@rumeysagelgi
In the comment section, Gelgi explains her condition and why has to travel like this. She wrote, “I have a condition called scoliosis, which is severe spinal curvature. I had spinal fusion surgery for it, 11 years ago and my curve has been reduced and doesn’t threaten my life anymore. However, the time I can stay seated is still limited to 1-2 hours at once (it was a maximum of 20 minutes before my surgery). After that period of time, I need to lie down for a while to relieve the immense pressure on my spine."
Credit: Instagram/@rumeysagelgi
Rumseya informed that due to her condition she needs to keep her back straight at all times. Her spine is supported by two long rods and 30 screws in her spine, which prevent it from bending or twisting. As a consequence, during air travels it is best for Rumseya to travel while lying down on a stretcher.
Standing at an impressive 215.16 cm (7 ft 0.7 in), Rumeysa Gelgi holds five Guinness World Records titles. By profession, Gelgi is an activist, public speaker, and researcher. Further she has many interests and one of them is reading avid crime novel readers.