Booked himself on wheelchair, passenger denied flight : Hari Venkat | Go Air | March 2009

Booked himself on wheelchair, passenger denied flight

Express India,  Mar 17, 2009 

He says luggage ejected, officials said no aide to take him on board; airline says he was in washroom before takeoff

Mumbai : A wheelchair-bound passenger alleged that he was denied entry to a flight and his luggage ejected on Sunday evening, even though he had informed the airline while booking his ticket that he would be on a wheelchair.

Hari Venkat (38) had booked a Go Air flight from Mumbai to Kochi to undergo spinal treatment. He cannot walk.

Go Air denied the allegation, saying Venkat was not flown because he had insisted on using the washroom minutes before takeoff. Venkat eventually left on a Spice Jet flight to Kochi the next morning

His sister Anju said the Go Air staff told him, “We’ll deplane your luggage as we don’t have an assistant to take you on a wheelchair.”

Only last week, Newsline reported that a woman passenger had been asked to remove her salwar as she was wearing metallic calipers. While the woman managed to fight her way through and refused to remove her salwar, Venkat was helpless as he could not board the aircraft without aid from the airline’s helpers.

Venkat reached the airport at 3:15 for a 4:40 flight. He got the boarding pass; it was after he had proceeded towards security check that the ordeal began.

“It was terrible the way they treated me. When I arrived at the terminal, they had some problems with their systems and that delayed the boarding pass. And the assistant they gave me was an inept 18-year-old,” Venkat said from Kochi.

“At the security check I needed my boarding card, so I had to wait while the assistant they provided me kept chatting with someone. Eventually I had to shout to get myself through security check. By the time I reached the gate, an executive told me I couldn’t get in.”

Anju said passengers behind her brother passed by him and got on the aircraft while Hari waited for the airline’s assistant to take him on board. “After he was refused entry, he called up and said that they (airline staff) did not even apologise or offer a reimbursement,” said Anju.

The flight was not delayed. When Venkat was told he could not fly, it was 3:30pm, with over an hour left for takeoff.

Hari said an airline executive told him, “Talk to the supervisor as I don’t work for you.”

A circular dated May 1, 2008, from the DGCA to all passenger airlines says, “No airline shall refuse to carry persons with disability or persons with reduced mobility and their assistive aids/devices, escorts and guide dogs including their presence in the cabin, provided such persons or their representatives, at the time of booking and /or check-in for travel, inform the airlines of their requirement.”

Go Air had an explanation: “The passenger had a GoAir porter for assistance all through check-in and then into the security hold. The passenger insisted on using the washroom even though they were repeatedly informed about the delay that they were causing to the flight. All mandatory on-air and personal requests were made. However, the passenger showed no inclination to hasten the boarding process and hence it resulted in a gate no-show, since the flight was ready for take off,” said a spokesperson for the airline.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/booked-himself-on-wheelchair-passenger-denied-flight/435357/

Does DGCA's CAR address training issues (Disability Sensitization) of CISF personnel employed at Air Ports: Travel Experience of Shruti Paul

Dear Friends, 

This incident faced by Shruti Paul, is after several reports, awareness raising and finally a Civil Aviation Requirement - a regulation that deals with What, Why and How aspects of flying a person with disability with dignity and independence! Its agreeable that in light of recent terror attacks, the security is of critical importance. However, I feel that while disability equity and handling training for the Airport Staff and Airlines Staff has been addressed by the CAR for all fresh entrants and a refresher course after every 3 years, the issue of training Security Guards from CISF has not been addressed. We have seen such reports in the past also and it calls for a policy decision at the highest level of the Government of India and in particular, Min. of Home Affairs, Min. of Civil Aviation and DG-CISF to look at this aspect in a more comprehensive way. The Security Staff employed at the Air Ports have no right to be rude to passengers with disabilities. They need to be trained and provisions should be accordingly made for them either in the current CAR for carriage of passengers with disabilities by air or through some additional rules/policy and be strictly enforced.

In February 2009, there was a case of a senior citizen wheelchair user trapped in the transfer bus when the bus engine caught fire. The untrained driver could not put off the fire and the passenger was engulfed in smoke for ten minutes with literally no help! Here is the link to the case, details of which are appended towards the end.

regards 

Subhash Chandra Vashishth 

Incident as reported in news is appended below.  To read from source click: Indian Express 

CISF guard at airport asks woman with leg braces to take off salwar 

Posted: Mar 09, 2009 at 0115 hrs IST Mumbai: 

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at the Mumbai airport allegedly asked a disabled passenger to take off her salwar for security check because she had metallic braces on her legs. The Indian Express had reported how Mumbai airport has been receiving at least 10 to 15 complaints from passengers every month on the overbearing behaviour of the CISF personnel. 

“I’ve never felt so disgusted and humiliated in my life and it was not the first time I was travelling,” said Shruti Paul, who was on her way to Lucknow on a Kingfisher flight last Friday. Shruti, who suffers from polio, said she was wearing a caliper on her left leg and braces on her right knee; this would make the metal detector beep every time she passed through it. 

“I pulled up my salwar a little to show her my caliper, but she asked me to take it off in the open-ended women’s cubicle,” she alleged. She said her ordeal lasted about 20 minutes, during which she was made to get up thrice from her wheelchair and asked to remove her salwar. 

 “They said I was not cooperating with them. But I did all I could, considering the heightened security at airports these days. But I could not take off my salwar. I felt like a criminal,” she said, while stating that the woman CISF guard, P Poonam, kept talking on her mobile phone while she was checking her. 

Eventually, a senior CISF officer asked the guard to let her go. “He asked me to carry a disability certificate the next time I travel,” said Shruti. 

Sanjay Prakash, CISF’s Senior Commandant at Mumbai airport, was unavailable for comment. “While it is mandatory for every passenger to pass the metal detector to enter the terminal’s security hold area, this kind of behaviour is simply unheard of,” said an airport official.

Another news:

'Make airports friendlier for the disabled'

Civil aviation body re-issues old document on handling passengers with limited mobility after a wheelchair-bound senior citizen was trapped in a coach on fireIt took a wheelchair-bound senior citizen trapped in a smoke-filled airport coach to draw the attention of the higher-ups in Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) office in New Delhi to the disregard shown to air passengers with limited mobility in India. Aviation expert Vipul Saxena observed that Saturday's incident highlights a lapse in the procedure laid down by the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) for airlines with regard to handling of passengers with disability/limited mobility.

An airport coach carrying a wheelchair-bound senior citizen caught fire at the Mumbai airport on Saturday, leaving her trapped inside the smoke- filled coach for nearly 10 minutes. In a knee-jerk reaction, the DGCA re-issued a Civil Aviation Requirement document dated May 1, 2008, on Carriage By Air of persons with disability and/or persons with reduced mobility.

All stakeholders in the aviation industry, including those who are regulated by the DGCA, have been asked to respond with remedial feedback on the subject by March 7. Naseem Zaidi, director general, DGCA, expressed concern over Saturday's incident saying, "All aspects of the case will be looked into fully before a report is prepared. All improvement needed has to be brought about." According to officials, major questions that the DGCA could raise include, whether the driver of the airport coach has been trained in operating a fire extinguisher, since his attempts to douse the fire did not yield any results. Also, whether an attendant was accompanying the trapped passenger.

The lady, a passenger of the Hyderabad-Mumbai Kingfisher Red flight, was in an airport coach operated by Nova Aviation for Kingfisher. "The nine-odd minutes taken to rescue the passenger from suffocating smoke drew attention to the efficiency and ability of the ground handling staff," Saxena said. Quoting from the re-issued CAR, Saxena noted, "All airlines and airport managements shall run a programme in assisting passengers with disabilities. The training programme shall be conducted at the time of initial training and a refresher shall be conducted every three years, and only persons thus trained will assist disabled persons in all possible ways, including filling up of travel documents, while providing assistance in flight."

Lessons from Saturday's incident :

• Better ground handling including sensitisation of airport staff to the needs of persons of limited mobility is the need of the hour.
• More intense scrutiny of procedures for the yearly renewal of passenger vehicles like checking roadworthiness, proper insulation of wiring, lubrication of all rotating parts, engine oil temperature, safe radiator heating, condition of tyres and brakes, number and quality of fire extinguishers

An aviation expert observed that Saturday's incident highlights a lapse in the procedure laid down by the MIAL for airlines with regard to handling of passengers with disability/limited mobility.

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.