Airlines and Disability : Aishwarya Rao (Sharing an incident she faced during her travel with Jet Airways Flight on 25 Feb 2009)

Article by Aishwarya Rao :  Airlines and Disability

from: Aiswarya Rao aiswarya.rao@gmail.com

to: customerrelations@jetairways.com

cc: das@dgca.nic.in,  dri@dgca.nic.in,  scd@tn.nic.in

date: Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 4:32 AM

subject: Incident on 9W 0739 – 25th Feb 09

Sir/Madam,

I boarded Jet Airways flight no: 9W 0739 on 25th February 09 from Delhi to Chennai at about 10:30 p.m. ( 3 hours delayed).

I am a physically challenged person and mobile with a pair of calipers and crutches. I was travelling alone and I requested wheelchair assisstance for alighting the flight of steps that lead to the aircraft, as I usually do whenever I fly.

I was assigned seat 25D on that day. This is the last but one row from the rear exit. I requested the stewardess whether I may sit in the last row as it had more leg room. She obliged as there were no one seated there already and said that she would request anyone who may turn up for the seat to exchange with me. I was happy with the assisstance given and I sat in the window seat on the right side -last row. I sat by the window so that I may enjoy the view of the city lights when we take off and land. It is also less bothersome to other passengers if they have to cross over my stretched legs to move to seats inside.

After everyone had boarded, I discovered that the seat I was sitting in was not assigned to anybody. In about 5 minutes one of the stewards  – Mr. Mickey, came up to me and asked me to shift to the aisle seat. I overheard conversation between him and his supervisor just minutes ago that ‘the lady in the wheelchair’ needs to be seated in the aisle seat. When I asked him the reason, why I should shift to the aisle seat and he said that it was Jet Airways Safety 

Requirement, that disabled passengers be seated only in the aisle seats. I wondered why, and he answered that it was so that in an emeregency if a disabled passenger has to be evacuated, this seating will enable that they are evacuated.

I thought that the explanation was incredulous, as I have travelled on numerous occassions previously, several times at the window and I have never been given this reason for not being seated at the window. I clarified that I am not a wheelchair bound person and that the seating policy if it did exist did not apply to me, as I would be able to move out myself in the event of an emergency. Mr. Mickey said that he would get back to me. I smiled.

In a few minutes he returned with the same line, asking me to get up and to be seated in the aisle. Then he asked, "What is your problem?”.  I said that I had “no problem”. I further clarified that I had polio myelitis. He asked me to shift my seat. I declined for the reason that I had already given him. He smiled and said that he understood and said that he would get back again.

He returned again in a few more minutes and asked me very politely, if I could just get up and sit in the aisle for the take off and then get back to the window seat after that. I was frankly irritated by this time. But I put up a quiet front and again asked why I should do so, as it is causing me a lot of discomfort. He agreed it was causing discomfort, apologised for the same, but insisted that I shift myself into the aisle seat. I was really curious this time and I asked him again what this security requirement is all about. He simply maintained that it was for all passengers who used a wheel chair for getting up the aircraft it was the Jet Airways seating policy and a safety regulation.

I told him to show me the safety instruction on seating passengers who used a wheelchair to be seated by the aisle only and not at the window. Until then I would not shift.

After that I was not bothered. Subsequently Mr. Mickey was courteous to me and served me my dinner without reference to the previous conversation.

Is it really Jet Airways seating policy to seat “wheelchair passengers” only in the aisle and are they discriminated from sitting near the window seat? Also there is a big difference between ‘wheelchair bound’ passengers and passengers who use a wheelchair only in airports for transport into the aircraft. Again, I am not a ‘lady in the wheelchair’, as identified by one of the main steward to Mr. Mickey which I overheard.

I hope Jet Airways is more sensitive to physically challenged passengers. I am also a member of the Tamilnadu State Coordination Committee for the Disabled and this attitude of airlines crew is disturbing.

Further the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3 Series ‘M’ Part I – Carriage of Physically Challenged passengers by Air issued by the Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation, New Delhi (dated 1st May 2008) states in its clause 7. 2.1 that “passengers with reduced mobility including the blind shall not be restricted to any particular cabin or seating areas, except when it is done for safety of passengers and avoid interference with evacuations or due to physical limitations of the aircraft”. If at all, I was seated away from the exit near the window and would not be an interference to evacuations!!

Expecting a clarification on the seating policy of Jet Airways which if it does exist, appears to be very unfair and going against the CAR issued by the DGCA.

sincerely,

Aiswarya

from: customerrelations@jetairways.comto: aiswarya.rao@gmail.com  date: Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 10:58 AMsubject: Fw: Incident on 9W 0739 – 25th Feb 09 mailed-by: jetairways.com

Dear Ms Rao,

This mail is with reference to your email of date. Kindly allow us to examine the issue raised by you and we will surely revert to you. May we kindly request you to bear withus in the interim period.

Yours Sincerely

R Viswanathan Customer Relations

—– Forwarded by CustomerRelations/Litolier/Jetairways on 02/27/2009 10:51 AM —–

Airport Bus ferrying flier on wheelchair catch fire- reports Times of India

Airport bus ferrying flier on wheelchair catches fire

Feb 8, 2009

MUMBAI : An airport minibus, which was ferrying a wheelchair-bound passenger - a senior citizen, caught fire just as it reached the arrival terminal of Mumbai airport on Saturday morning. However, no one was injured in the incident.

The passenger, who arrived on a Hyderabad-Mumbai Kingfisher Red flight, was being taken to the arrival terminal when a short-circuit occurred in the battery compartment of the bus, leading to the fire.

"The driver used the fire extinguisher, but was unable to douse it. The glass door of the bus was jammed and had to be broken to pull the passenger out. The fire started around 7.10 am and was extinguished by 7.19 am,'' a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd spokesperson said. 

"The distance between the aircraft and the arrival area was short. The passenger was escorted by our personnel, who broke open the glass door,'' said a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-02-08/mumbai/28000187_1_airport-bus-arrival-terminal-extinguisher

Air Canada pays for discriminating against Deaf Blind Passenger

Dear Friends,

Here is another news where the courts have come forward with a befitting penalty to air carriers "Air Canada" who were found to have discriminated against a passenger with deaf-blindness.

Hope you would welcome the news and we hope that such benchmarks will work as deterrence for any future incident. Here is the news which has been sourced from www.canada.com

Subhash Chandra Vashishth
09811125521

Air Canada ordered to pay deaf–blind man for discrimination

27 Jan: The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ordered Air Canada to pay $10,000 to Eddie Morten –a Vancouver man who is deaf and with limited vision in just one eye –– on the basis the company discriminated against him by demanding he fly with an attendant. "We have concluded that Mr. Morten has established a prima facie case of discrimination against Air Canada. Air Canada has not met its obligation to accommodate him to the point of undue hardship," the tribunal ruled in a decision released Monday.

In August of 2004, Morten called a travel agent to book a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco and informed the travel agent of his condition. An Air Canada reservations clerk, hearing that Morten was deaf–blind, said he could not travel alone and would need someone to accompany him. Air Canada offered the attendant a reduced fare. The airline allows deaf people and blind people to travel unaccompanied because they are considered self–reliant and able to act on their own in an emergency.

Source: www.canada.com

Another Affirmation of CAR by DGCA - It seems to have worked!

Dear Friends,

DGCA has once again affirmed the facilities to the passengers with disabilities for flying in the following article at appeared today in Express buzz appended below

Here is text for your reading:

Inflight care for the disabled

Scaria Meledam

First Published : 07 Jan 2009 10:49:00 PM IST

Last Updated : 07 Jan 2009 03:18:01 PM

ISTKOCHI: No airline should refuse to carry persons with disability or persons with reduced mobility, their assistive aids/devices such as wheelchairs, stretchers and incubators, and their escorts, and even their guide-dogs, provided the airline is informed of the requirement - so mandates the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) known as “Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and Persons with Reduced Mobility,” issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

No medical clearance or special forms should be insisted on from persons with disabilities or persons with reduced mobility who only require special assistance at the airport for embarking/disembarking and a reasonable accommodation in flight. A medical clearance can be insisted on by the airline only if the passenger suffers from a communicable disease, or requires medical attention or special equipment to maintain health during the flight, or if there exists a possibility of the medical condition being aggravated during the flight or if the passenger, on account of certain diseases or incapacitation, has an adverse physical condition which could have an adverse effect during flight and on safety and emergency evacuation procedures.

Any passenger having any of the conditions mentioned above should be subjected to prior clearance for air travel by the medical departments/advisors of the carrying airlines.

Persons with specific disabilities should plan to have all the required forms of assistance ready in advance, to avoid flight delays. Forms and information should be made available on each airline’s website. In case the passenger requires a connecting flight with another airline, a medical clearance need not be availed again. The one accepted at the first point of check-in is transmitted by the first airline to the connecting one.

If carriage of any such passenger is refused, it should be after referring to the airline’s medical advisors in accordance with a procedure which should be documented by the airlines.

For such clearance the airline can seek the necessary medical information from the passenger concerned or representatives.

The forms for providing such information to the passengers by the airline staff should be made available on the airline’s website. The airline should establish a procedure for expeditious clearance by the medical department, where required, to avoid delays causing inconvenience to passengers.

Airlines should provide necessary forms and procedures on their websites and through their call centres/agencies to make the process simple. Passengers should pre-clear themselves with the airline.

The airline should ensure that at the time of check-in the airline staff is alerted and should verify that all needs required by such passenger and stated in advance in the relevant forms have been made available.

The procedures involving medical clearances should be documented and published in each airline’s website. All assisting devices such as wheelchairs should be provided without any extra cost to the passengers. However, charges for human assistance, if required, can be levied by the airlines.

Airlines should ensure that wheelchairs are available at all stations, for boarding and disembarking purposes, before departure, during intermediate stops and on arrival.

They should also ensure that advance arrangements are made with other concerned agencies like Airport Management, where necessary, to ensure that movement of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility within the airport is not restricted.

Passengers who intend to check in with their own wheelchair should be given the option of using a station/airport wheelchair.

Passenger’s wheelchair should be returned to him to enable him to transfer himself from the aisle seat directly into his own wheel chair. On advance request, the airlines should make stretchers and associated equipment (blankets, pillows, sheets, nursing materials and privacy curtains etc.) available for passengers who cannot use the standard airline seat in a sitting or reclining position for the class of service desired.

Every airport operator should make provisions, including ambulifts, to enable disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility to embark and disembark the aircraft without inconvenience.

These provisions can be made in coordination with airline operators, if required. Airlines should ensure availability of low floor accessible buses at the airports to enable easy boarding and alighting by disabled persons, immobile or incapacitated passengers not travelling on stretchers.

The airlines should make available narrow wheelchair-type devices, without armrests, preferably foldable type that can be moved about in the passenger cabin. Airport Management Authorities should provide ramps at least at the main entrance/exit to the terminal building for easy access.

Upon request the airlines should endeavour to make available on board a special wheel chair capable of carrying a handicapped passenger to enable them to use lavatory facilities, which can also be used as a boarding /disembarkation vehicle where they are not available.

scariameledam@epmltd.com

Top Canada Court favours right to two seats for disabled passengers at no extra cost!

Dear Friends
I am thrilled to see such turnaround happening around the Globe. Though it is applicable to the domestic flights only, it is a remarkable ruling from the top court of the country.

Here are the news for your information:

regards,
Subhash Chandra Vashishth

Disabled Passengers have the right to two seats: Canadian court decision November 20, 2008

Canada's largest airline is trying to figure out which obese and disabled passengers will be eligible for additional seats at no charge after the country's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the airlines. The Canadian Transportation Agency issued an order last January requiring Air Canada and other domestic airlines to make additional seats free to disabled or obese passengers who need extra room. The airlines' appeal was rejected twice, first by the Federal Court of Appeal in May, and then by the country's highest court on Thursday. Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Monday they are developing detailed eligibility rules for free seats. The ruling Thursday applies only to domestic flights and will be implemented January 9, 2009. "It's been basically left to the airlines to determine how they are going to comply," Fitzpatrick said. "We're working on it now." Under the ruling, airlines cannot charge extra for an obese person who needs an additional seat or a disabled person who needs space for a wheelchair or stretcher or who must be accompanied by an attendant. David Baker, the Toronto lawyer who fought the case on behalf of disabled passengers, said the ruling will allow more disabled people to travel. Joanne Neubauer of Victoria, one of two people whose complaints sparked the case, said the news made her feel like "an equal citizen in this country." Neubauer who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and uses a motorized wheelchair.

Air Canada and WestJet, Canada's second largest carrier, said they will comply with the transportation agency's order. WestJet spokesman Richard Bartem said his company may consider extending the policy to international flights. Bus, train and ferry companies have long made arrangements for free extra seats, but the airline industry had argued it would lose too much money by doing the same. The transportation agency rejected claims that providing extra seats would impose an "undue hardship" on airlines, saying they can afford the financial burden. The agency estimated the cost to Air Canada at about $7 million Canadian (A$8.7 million) a year and to WestJet at about $1.5 million Canadian (A$1.9 million) a year. The agency said that amounts to about 77 cents Canadian a ticket for Air Canada and 44 cents Canadian for WestJet. To put it another way, the agency said the cost would be 0.09 per cent of Air Canada's annual passenger revenue and 0.16 per cent of WestJet's revenue.

Top court backs free seat ruling for some disabled, obese travellers

Last Updated: Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:08 PM ETCBC News

The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a regulatory ruling requiring airlines to offer a free extra seat to certain disabled and obese people. In a decision released without comment Thursday, Canada's top court rejected an application by Air Canada and WestJet for permission to appeal a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling issued earlier this year. The court's decision means airlines must offer a "one person, one fare" policy to disabled people who require room for an attendant during the flight or require extra room for a wheelchair, or for people who are clinically obese and take up more than one seat. Bus, train and ferry companies have long agreed to such arrangements, but the airline industry has argued it would lose too much money by doing the same. The case has wound its way through various agencies and courts for years. It was originally brought forward in 2002 by three parties: * Victoria resident Joanne Neubauer, who has rheumatoid arthritis and requires a personal attendant, wheelchair and crutches.* Eric Norman, a man from Gander, N.L., who had a rare disease that impaired his motor skills. He has since died.* The Council of Canadians with Disabilities. Calgary law Prof. Linda McKay-Panos, who was later granted intervener status, has been arguing for the rights of obese travellers since she was charged for 1½ seats on a 1997 Air Canada flight. McKay-Panos argued anyone who is clinically obese has a disability and should not have to pay for more than one seat. She has polycystic ovary syndrome, an incurable condition that can lead to obesity. McKay-Panos said Thursday she was happy with the decision, but her main concern is how the airlines will implement the new regulations. "I think whatever they do, it has to be done with dignity and not in public and [not be] humiliating or anything like that, and not in front of people on the airplane," she said. Spokespeople for WestJet and Air Canada said they will comply with the decision. Questions surrounding decision But WestJet spokesman Richard Bartrem said there are still many unanswered questions. "Will we be putting criteria in place to determine whether somebody travels with an attendant out of necessity or out of desire?" he said. "What is morbidly obese? How are we going to be able to make that determination and implement that respectfully, and consistently and fairly?" In 2006, the agency held public hearings on air travel costs for people with disabilities. This past January, the CTA ruled airlines must offer a single fare to people with disabilities who require an attendant during the flight and clinically obese passengers. It gave the airlines one year to implement the policy. WestJet and Air Canada turned to the Supreme Court after the Federal Court of Appeal rejected their bid to appeal the ruling.

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Has the new DGCA's CAR changed any thing for Disabled People in India?

Dear Friends,

I wonder whether the new Civil Aviation Requirements that were enforced few months ago has helped people with disability in India. On the contrary, I see that the CAR seems to have been misinterpreted - thanks to the provision of "Charges for human assistance" - though in this particular case, it was not human assistance but lift for boarding the aircraft that has been charged for! And that too by an airlines that has been preferred so far by people with disabilities as better than private players like JET.

I suppose there has not been proper orientation and dissemination by the DGCA about the impact of the new CAR currently in force, on the Responsibilities of Airlines & Aerodrome operators. So much so that an airlines under the Govt. of India is not aware of the CAR! This indicates that how much training and sensitization is needed for the ground staff who deal directly with the customers - which even CAR necessitates.

This is absolutely against all norms and rules of equality. No country in the world charge for ambu-lift. This is even against the Hon'ble Supreme Court order as a result of which the airlines and aerodrome operators were asked to provide for ambu-lift at any cost.

The airlines must immediately return the amount and apologise for the treatment that was meted out to the user.

If they don't, I am sure besides getting a bad name, they would have to pay up through their noses - for we have a forward looking judiciary to set the things right!


Here is the incident:

SHIVANI GUPTA WAS CHARGED FOR USE OF SPECIAL LIFT MEANT FOR BOARDING AIRCRAFT We had to hire an ambulift from the airport authority. Since they charged us for it, we had to recover the cost from the passenger JITENDRA BHARGAVA, Air India's director (communications)...............Neha Bhayana Mumbai

WHEN SHIVANI Gupta (38), a wheelchair-bound Delhi resident, took an Indian flight to Mumbai on June 16, she was not prepared for what lay ahead.Not only was she physically carried to her flight seat in Delhi, because there was no narrow wheelchair for the aircraft's aisle, she was also charged Rs 1,685 for an ambulift, (a van with a special lift for the disabled) to board the return flight from Mumbai. Gupta, an activist for the rights of the physically challenged, filed a complaint against Indian, the Mumbai International Airport Limited and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, vested with powers of a civil court to hear complaints regarding the rights of the physically challenged, issued a show-cause notice to the authorities concerned."I felt humiliated and helpless when I was carried by the staff. They were not trained to handle people with disabilities and I sustained bruises on my shoulders. I could not use the toilet because there was no aisle chair," said Gupta.

An Indian spokesperson said: "We provided a free ambulift at Delhi airport because we have our own service there. But in Mumbai, we had to hire an ambulift from the airport authority. Since they charged us for it, we had to recover the cost from the passenger," said Jitendra Bhargava, Air India's director (communications).

According to a May 1 directive from DGCA, charges may be levied for human assistance but the use of aids and appliances to access the aircraft are to be provided free to physically challenged passengers. The fact that Indian charged Gupta Rs 1,685 for the ambulift was in direct breach of this directive.Gupta had pointed out the directive to the airline staff. "But the staff told me that they had not received any written information about the new law," she said.

Spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited Manish Kalghatgi said: "Facilitation of passage to the aircraft is the responsibility of the airline, not us. "When Bhargava was asked why a narrow wheelchair was not available for the aircraft's aisle, he said: "When passengers can't go up to their seats, they are escorted. Since the passenger has made a complaint, we will argue the case when the hearing takes place."

URL:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=25_07_2008_003_013&typ=0&pub=264

Regards
SC Vashishth