Ms. Ann Frye to chair new Independent Panel of Experts to Help London's Gatwick Airport strategise services for disabled flyers

Dear Colleagues,

Its heartening to see this development at the London's Gatwick Airport where our good friend and an international specialist in Transportation Needs for People with Disabilities and Older Adults, Ms. Ann Frye, will Chair an independent panel of experts.  This new independent panel – made up of experts in the travel needs of disabled passengers and people with reduced mobility – will help to shape Gatwick’s accessibility strategy and improve services for disabled passengers, as announced by the airport on 19th Sep 2019.

The Independent Gatwick Accessibility Panel (IGAP) will take a broad view of accessibility provision and services at the airport, including setting new service standards and reviewing the airport’s performance against them and will complement the work and ongoing achievements of Gatwick’s Accessibility Forum and Passenger Advisory PRM Group.

The panel is expected to have its first meeting on 19 December 2019 and will build upon the ongoing work and achievements of two existing groups; the Passenger Advisory PRM Group – which represents passengers – and the Accessibility Community Forum, which is where airport stakeholders meet with local charities and support groups.

Ann Frye – an international specialist in the transport needs of disabled and older people will chair the group.  Ann currently co-chairs the US Transportation Research Board sub-committee on International Activities in Accessible Transportation and Mobility.  She is also working with the United Nations and the International Transport Forum on the mobility implications of a global ageing population.

Other members of the panel have been primarily drawn from the disability community – including those with hidden disabilities – and have been selected based on their expertise and experience both in disability and air travel. The biographies of other panel members can be found on Gatwick’s website here.

The panel will then meet at least twice every year and the minutes from each meeting will be published on Gatwick’s website.  The panel will also be consulted on other relevant issues on an ad hoc basis.

Aviation Minister Paul Maynard said: “Transport is vital for connecting people with work, friends and family, and should enable those from every part of society to access and enjoy exploring the rest of the world.

“Gatwick’s continued work on accessibility is helping to open up new opportunities and experiences, ensuring the aviation network is truly open to all.”

Chris Woodroofe, Chief Operating Officer, Gatwick Airport, said: “This new independent panel of experts will help us set new standards and identify innovative opportunities where we can improve the service we offer to passengers with reduced mobility or other disabilities.

“The panel will also complement and build on the ongoing achievements of our Accessibility Forum and Passenger Advisory Groups.  By consulting and engaging with such a broad range of experts, we want to make sure our accessibility services are the best they can be.”

Ann Frye, Chair of the Independent Gatwick Accessibility Panel, said: “I am delighted to have been invited to chair the new Independent Gatwick Accessibility Panel. I have worked for many years to promote accessibility for disabled and older people in aviation and other forms of transport and I look forward to working with Gatwick and their key stakeholders in achieving their goal to be the UK’s most accessible airport.”

Gatwick was the first airport to introduce a hidden disability lanyard scheme – something that all UK airports have introduced since.  Gatwick was also the first UK airport to open a sensory room, invested £2 million in a new ‘premium-style’ lounge for passengers with reduced mobility and is expanding its existing range of Changing Places facilities, which include hoists and height-adjustable changing beds and sinks.

The airport also places a particular emphasis on training and all passenger-facing staff are taught to recognize a range of hidden disabilities. To ensure consistent standards across the airport, Gatwick also offers this training free to airlines, ground handlers and organisations.

For example, 2,200 staff have been trained to recognize and help people with dementia across 14 different businesses. Staff working for Gatwick’s special assistance provider – Wilson James – are also the only ones in the UK trained to NVQ Level 2 & 3.

About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport. It serves more than 230 destinations in 74 countries for 46 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. Gatwick is also a major economic driver and generates around 85,000 jobs nationally, with 24,000 of these located on the airport.

Since May 2019, a new long-term partnership was formed with VINCI Airports who purchased a 50.01% stake in the airport. This partnership sees Gatwick Airport integrate into the network of VINCI Airports, the leading private airport operator in the world, which manages the development and operation of 46 airports across the globe. Served by around 250 airlines, VINCI Airports’ network handled 240 million passengers in 2018 – including traffic at London Gatwick. VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and operates airports, leveraging its investment capability, international network and know-how to optimise performance of existing airport infrastructure, facility extensions and new-build construction projects.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which manages the remaining 49.99% interest in Gatwick, is an independent infrastructure investor that makes equity investments in high quality infrastructure assets in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors. GIP has US$56 billion of Assets under Management. Its 18 portfolio companies operate in over 50 countries with circa 54,000 employees and generate annual revenues of circa US$50 billion.

Source: Travel PR News.com

‘She doesn’t look disabled’: Woman in wheelchair asked to stand up at Delhi Airport- Incidence with Virali Modi

New Delhi |  10 September 2019 | Avantika Chopra | Indian Express

Disability rights activist Virali Modi was left feeling distressed when a CISF personnel at the Delhi airport repeatedly asked her to get up from her wheelchair for security check on Monday. Modi, who suffered a spinal injury in 2006 following which she began using wheelchair, was travelling to Mumbai when the incident occurred. Acknowledging the episode, CISF has ordered an inquiry into the matter. 

 Sharing her ordeal on social media, Modi tweeted, “‘You have to stand-up for a security checking. Stop doing drama,’ the CISF at Delhi airport said to me.” Along with the post are screenshots of notes she has written explaining what happened at the airport. The 28-year-old had submitted her wheelchair at the check-in counter and had informed the airport authorities about her disability. After which, she was assigned a porter all the way to her seat. 

However, as Modi reached the security check, she was asked to stand up by the CISF staff. When she repeatedly told them about her disability, she was asked to wait as the security check personnel went to speak to her senior. “She went behind the curtain citing that she would call an official. She then started saying to another woman that I was doing ‘drama’ and being a ‘dramebaaz’,” Modi told the indianexpress.com. 

“YOU HAVE TO STAND UP FOR SECURITY CHECKING! STOP DOING DRAMA!,” - The CISF at Delhi airport said this to me. @jayantsinha @CISFHQrs @DelhiAirport @debolin_sen @BookLuster @guptasonali PLEASE RT - THIS TREATMENT TOWARDS THE DISABLED IS RIDICULOUS pic.twitter.com/WGYFULblUm

— Virali Modi (@Virali01) September 9, 2019

Miffed at their behaviour, Modi confronted the official. “When I made a scene, she told me she was talking about someone else and not me.” As the issue escalated, another woman took over and did the manual check-in and let Modi proceed, she claims. When asked, what may have triggered such a reaction from the CISF security staff, Modi said, “She told the other staff member that I did not look disabled.” 

The episode, which lasted for around 20-minutes, left the 28-year-old emotionally drained. Though she was contacted by a senior CISF official Delhi, Arun Singh, who “apologised” and “expressed his regret”, Modi thinks it is not enough. “That is not enough. I want a public written apology because a lot of people with disability have come out and shared their experiences with the CISF.” 

CISF spokesperson Hemendra Singh commented on the incident and told indianexpress.com, “Our personnel are properly trained to deal with specially-abled persons. CISF has already introduced measures not to cause any inconvenience to them.” When asked what is being done about the Delhi airport incident, he said that CISF has ordered an inquiry into it. 

This is, however, not the first time this has happened with Modi. Back in November 2018, she went through an unfortunate security check that left her hospitalised. “I was at Bombay airport and the woman at the security, to look underneath, pulled my leg so hard that I injured my knee for that and had to be hospitalised because of this.”

Toyota to improve Universal Design Taxi Cab for faster wheelchair access

Dear Colleagues,

Toyota Motor Corp. is seriously looking at the business potential of Accessible Taxis. After it launched its spacious "JPN Taxi" wagon on Oct. 23, 2017 targeting wheelchair users, sports-persons with disabilities and tourists to Japan from abroad in the run up to the Paralympic Games, it is thinking further to reduce the usual boarding time for passengers using wheelchairs.

Toyota aims to encourage taxi companies to provide a total of 10,000 of the vehicles, which is about one-third of all taxis in Tokyo, in time for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. It is pertinent to observe that Toyota had not released an exclusive taxi model since 1995. 

A driver paces an easier-to-install wheelchair ramp on an
improved  model of "JPN Taxi" taxicab.
Photo credits-(Mainichi/Yoshinori Ogura)

Technical Features:- For easy access to seniors and children, the car has a spacious interior with a low floor; a high ceiling; a power sliding door and can accommodate a passenger in a wheelchair. The wheelchair user is ushered inside via a ramp placed on the car’s side, with the help of the driver. Safety has been improved through the use of the latest collision avoidance support system in this vehicle. The easy to install wheelchair ramp provided is operated by the driver.

New Improvements:- Now the Toyota Motor Corp. has announced that it will improve its “JPN Taxi” universal design taxicab to enable wheelchair users to get into the vehicle more quickly — cutting the current maximum of around 20 minutes down to three minutes.

The improvements, unveiled on Feb. 4, 2019 involve redesigning the car’s foldable wheelchair ramp and simplifying its installation process, while the taxi itself will be a new model with better functionality, according to the major car maker.

Updating already sold cars of the model :- More than 10,000 units of the model are in use by taxi companies across Japan. For the units already sold, Toyota will from February 2019 begin providing a new ramp redesigned from tri-fold to double-fold, with improved fixings. A new model to be introduced in March will have an automatic sliding door that opens and shuts about 1.5 seconds faster than the current model.

A Toyota-organized training session will enable the driver to install the ramp in around three to four minutes, according to the company. A person in charge of the car’s development commented, “We want to make a taxi that makes everyone smile.”

Users's Feedback:- Hitoshi Nakamura, 67, a wheelchair user living in Nagoya’s Naka Ward was happy about the new model. Nakaumura submitted about 10,000 signatures from people requesting the model’s improvement to Toyota in November last year. “I’m really thankful and can’t wait to ride in the new one,” he said.

Source: The Mainichi.
(Japanese original by Yoshinori Ogura, Nagoya News Center)

Husband with disability forced to pre-board flight alone, separated from wife battling cancer

Disabled man forced to pre-board Reagan Southwest flight alone, separated from wife battling

30 Dec 2018, 1100PM

ARLINGTON, Va. - A couple says their holiday trip to Virginia was ruined by a traumatic incident on their flight home. A disabled husband was forced to pre-board alone, while his sick wife had to stay behind at the gate.

Terry and Kathryn Podraza were hesitant to make the trip from Omaha to Fredericksburg at all.

Terry is disabled, and Kathy is fighting cancer with aggressive chemotherapy starting on Monday. So, their family booked a direct flight on Southwest hoping to make their trip as easy as possible. Unfortunately, the Podrazas say it was anything but.

Kathy and Terry Podraza hadn't seen their 6-month-old grand baby since she was born. So, the idea of spending Christmas with their daughter Kate and her sister in Virginia was worth the long haul, despite serious challenges with their health.

"I'm handicapped and my wife has stage-four colon and liver cancer," said Terry Podraza.

After the holiday rush wrapped up, the Podrazas were headed home on a direct flight on Southwest.

Terry Podraza was permitted to board early, due to his disability. Kathy expected to join him, but they say the ticket agent wouldn't allow it.

"He told us that me having pre-boarding and being handicapped, that it was against the law for her to board at the same time as me," said Terry Podraza.

Instead, Terry used his cane to board alone, while Kathy waited at the gate. And as the final passengers stepped on the plane, Kathy was still waiting.

Not only had the agent not allowed her to assist Terry, Kathy says he accidentally scanned and kept her ticket. So when she finally was able to board, she had no way to get on the plane.

"All he had to do is ask me my name and he would have seen that he had already scanned my boarding pass," said Kathy Podraza.

While battling a second bout of cancer and gearing up for intense chemotherapy, Kathy says the agent's actions brought her to tears.

But when she finally was allowed on, Kathy says she was thankful at least for a very kind flight attendant who offered a little something to calm her nerves -- a mimosa.

The "Frequently Asked Questions" page on Southwest Airlines website addressed pre-boarding protocol and states:

“We will allow one travel companion to act as an “attendant” and pre-board with a customer with a disability.”

When reached for a comment via phone or email,  Southwest responded:

"Because it’s important to southwest that this concern is given our full attention, this situation has been given to a specialist for further review. We assure you that any missed opportunities will be thoroughly addressed."

Terry Podraza reached out as well and received an automatic message saying it would take up to 30 days before he receives an answer. 

Source: fox5DC 

Students design Single aisle chair for your air travel from departure gate to arrival gate

Photo source: dezeen.com

I am encouraged by this student-designed Air Chair that allows disabled passengers to use one chair for their whole journey.  As per this report from dezeen.com, two students from the United Arab Emirates have proposed a new type of wheelchair for air travel that saves disabled passengers from having to shift from one seat to another. 

Though, the aisle chair doesn't have a head rest, arm rest and other essential support systems that may be required by persons with disabilities with high support needs, however, it can be big relief for elders and other reduced mobility passengers who can manage without arm rest etc. 

Amer Siddiqui and Ali Asgar Salim were named runners up in the 2018 James Dyson Award for the Air Chair, which slides over the top of standard aeroplane seats and stays in place for the duration of the flight.

The award recognises the best in student design from around the world and is judged by the British inventor.

Use of the Air Chair would allow disabled passengers to remain in a single seat for their entire journey, from departure gate to arrivals hall. Usually, passengers requiring a wheelchair would switch to a fixed seat once on board the plane.

Photo source: dezeen.com

"The current plight of wheelchair air travellers is extremely deplorable," said the two American University of Sharjah students. "The present solutions are exceedingly restricting and humiliating. They only provide limited mobility and accessibility."
To create a chair that could slip over an existing seat like a glove, Siddiqui and Salim gave their design a hollowed-out "C" shape, with small, spherical rear wheels that fit underneath a standard aeroplane seat.

A locking mechanism secures the Air Chair in place, allowing the passenger to access the provided seatbelt and reach the life vest if required.

The design is also narrow enough to pass through aisles — another point of difference from standard wheelchairs. It is foldable and electric.

The James Dyson Award described the Air Chair as a "bold attempt" to improve the flying experience for disabled passengers.

While the design is still in the concept stage, Siddiqui and Salim now have £7,000 in prize money from the awards to put towards prototyping. They'll further test and analyse their design, taking into account aviation regulations from around the world.

"Being selected international runner-up by a technology pioneer like James Dyson is a true vindication of our idea," said the students. "This achievement has spurred us on to continue developing Air Chair."

"Through the exposure of our concept, we hope to secure even more investment to kickstart the prototyping phase; we'll feel restless until we see Air Chair in airports across the globe."

The international winner in this year's James Dyson Award was the O-Wind Turbine, designed by UK students Nicolas Orellana and Yaseen Noorani for use in dense city environments.

The James Dyson Awards is open to current and recent design and engineering students from around the world, with a final winner emerging following heats in 27 countries. Entrants are asked to design something that solves a problem, big or small.

Participating countries in this, the 14th year of the awards, included the USA, China, India, Mexico, Russia and the Philippines.

The awards are one of several educational initiatives run by Dyson, who is best known for his eponymous vacuum cleaners as well as blade-less fans and hairdryers. The inventor and Brexiteer also opened his own university, the Dyson Institute, in 2017, starting with an intake of 33 undergraduate engineers.

Other studios who have looked into the issue of air travel for disabled passengers include Priestmangoode. The studio used the London 2012 Paralympics as the jumping off point to design the Air Access chair, a seat that passengers with reduced mobility can sit in from the departure lounge through to their destination.

Source: Dezeen dot com

Jet Air apologies after seriously injuring Rustom Irani, a filmmaker with disability, while transferring him on seat

Filmmaker Rustom Irani, has pursued several interests particularly travelling, and his being a wheelchair user has never been a deterrent in any of those pursuits. However, what he went through at Nagpur Airport few days ago will definitely haunt him in the days to come. It was sheer insentivity and negligence on the part of Jet Airways that he ended up in hospital risking his impending work schedules including an urgent travel to London.

We have heard of the insensitivity and harassment travellers with disabilities seem to routinely face while flying. Some speak out, many don't. Irani, a person with "high support needs", while flying from Nagpur to Mumbai on a Jet Airways Flight S2880, was treated by the airlines so roughly that he had to be taken to hospital which advised him bed rest for an indefinite period due the knee fracture he sustained on the flight during the incorrect transfer technique by untrained staff.

Irani, a person with spinal muscular atrophy and a frequent air traveller, had informed Jet authorities in advance that as a wheelchair user, he will require the assistance of four people for transfer to the seat from the wheelchair in absence of any lifting mechanism available at the airports. But he faced several problems during his travel this time. To begin with, he was assigned a seat at the back of a plane, that too after his place was changed twice. When he reached the Nagpur Airport, Jet officials also refused to board his electronic wheelchair at first saying that wheelchairs only up to 30 kgs were allowed and then they realised their folly.  

When it came to boarding, instead of professional staff, a ground engineer and baggage loader were called for help. Other passengers were asked to start boarding while he was still getting on. The three officials called to assist in boarding were complete novices. They did not know how to handle me. First, they tried to lift me with their arm. When I objected, they used a sling and plonked me like a piece of luggage. My right leg was stuck at a right angle to my body in the on-board wheelchair.

Irani says he felt “three snapping sensations around his knee” and “excruciating pain, with the leg still caught.” His leg was forcefully pushed out and shoved under the seat. Upon landing in Mumbai, the airport doctor was called. “The doctor suspected multiple ligament tears, my pant leg was torn off, and I was injected with a powerful painkiller. He advised immediate hospital emergency treatment and diagnosis but no Jet representative accompanied me,” says Irani.

His injuries are so severe that he has been advised to stay immobile, putting his impending journey to London in serious doubt.  Irani’s tweet, when shared by disability rights leader Dr Satendra Singh elicited this response from Jet Airways –

“We sincerely regret the incident and are in touch with our Ground Services teams for a detailed review. We are already in touch with the guest and will connect with him post the review.”

Barring a few exceptions, airport travel remains an intimidating prospect for people with disabilities, says Shama Noorani, a disability rights activist, who works with Enable Travels.

“Either they break our chairs, or manhandle us while onloading and off-loading. By the end of every flight journey, my body is filled with aches and pains. The CISF has handheld testers, but they don’t use them everywhere. So many people don’t travel by air for this very reason.”

Noorani has even designed a transfer sling with six belts so that she can be lifted and carried with the sling instead of bodily. “Just because we don’t have movement and sensation in our legs does not mean you can push us around”, she says.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said, “While being seated, due to the aircraft’s limited pitch, the guest’s knee brushed against the seat ahead, causing him discomfort. The airline’s in-flight team quickly responded and provided him with requisite medical aid. Upon disembarkation at Mumbai, the guest was immediately provided with required medical attention. Jet Airways has noted the guest’s feedback with concern. The airline’s representatives have been trying to contact the guest unsuccessfully throughout the day for feedback and offer further assistance.”

Clearly, sensitization has to be more than just lip service and more importantly, it has be an ongoing effort involving people who are at the receiving end of this kind of treatment.

Media coverage: 

1. Mumbai Mirror

2. The Newzhook 

Delegation meets DG, BCAS to discuss SoP to address problems faced by Persons with Disabilities during Security Screening at Airports

06 April, 2018, New Delhi

Delegation lead by Subhash Chandra Vashishth, Director, Svayam discussing changes in SoPs with DG, BCAS

A team of stakeholders led by Mr. Subhash Chandra Vashishth, Director Svayam met Shri Kumar Rajesh Chandra, Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and his team of senior officials to discuss the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and those with reduced mobility during security screening at the Indian Airports. This was pursuant to the National Meeting of Stakeholders organised by Svayam to discuss issues faced during air travel by persons with disabilities and those with reduced mobility, on 22 November 2017, at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, and consequent submission of our collated recommendations to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment & Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The meeting took place on 06th April 2018 at the BCAS HQ at Janpath Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting offered yet another chance to stakeholders to actively participate in the process and negotiate for their demands for accessible, dignified air travel.

The stakeholders were represented at the meeting by Mr. Subhash Chandra Vashishth (Director, Svayam), Mr. Nipun Malhotra (CEO, Nipman Foundation) and Ms. Smitha Sadasivan (Member, Disability Rights Alliance).

Changes in SoPs as recommended during the National Consultation was shared with senior officials of BCAS

The DG, BCAS, at the outset, gave a brief background of the steps taken by the BCAS and assured the stakeholders that the BCAS would take the right steps in this direction to address the issues faced by disabled flyers. He also clarified that while BCAS deals with the issue of security related protocols, DGCA deals with issue of safety & passenger conveniences.

There was a point-wise discussion on the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and recommendations by the stakeholders as compiled by Svayam and submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in December 2017. The BCAS officials informed that the Bureau had issued an Addendum dated 03rd October 2017 to the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) dated 31st March 2014   for screening passengers with special needs and medical conditions. But they agreed that these passengers still face difficulties and embarrassment, and hence more changes are required.  A copy of this Addendum can be accessed here and copy of SOPs here.

Some of the major issues which were discussed included; use of full body scanners, scanning orthosis and prosthesis without invading privacy or causing avoidable discomfort; screening of battery operated wheelchairs, poor quality of airport wheelchairs, allowing airport passes for non-travelling passenger/companion for persons with disabilities, relieving areas for service animals etc.

BCAS officials explained that while “Millimeter wave scanners” though considered safe, require persons to stand in a certain posture, hence it is not suitable for wheelchair users. Other forms of X-ray technologies are not considered due to privacy and radiation issues. Therefore, a mix of multiple security protocols (such as visual profiling, ETD, physical frisking) have to be deployed to scan the wheelchairs in addition to the scanners.

While the issue of prosthesis screening has been largely resolved for cases where the steel rod is discernible, the orthosis has remained a challenge as it uses foam padding to prevent injuries. Presence of foam raises suspicion, requiring deployment of intensive screening procedures to ensure there are no hidden weapons.

On the issue of oxygen cylinders and special medical equipment, the BCAS officials said that they would like to know the best practices from the stakeholders to improve on the screening procedures.

Protocols for screening of service animals is relevantly a new area and challenges were mainly in the areas of soft training of screening staff.  The officials promised to address this issue. It was felt that the availability of “relieving areas” for service animals at the airports was an issue in the domain of DGCA hence this would be taken up with relevant authorities in our next meet.