Air India fails to deliver a disabled passenger's wheelchair at destination airport

Are the differently-abled not meant to travel? Should we just sit on a chair and spend our entire lives on it only? Air India has taken that chair away from me as well.”

~ Ajay Gupta, Author; Founder; Entrepreneur

On the 19th of July 2022, Mr Ajay Gupta, Founder Director of SK Educations Pvt. Ltd., a wheelchair user, shared a horrific experience while travelling via the infamous airline – ‘Air India’ from Delhi to Mumbai.

Mr Gupta recounted that at the Delhi Airport, he had submitted his battery-operated wheelchair to the Air India staff and received a receipt for it in exchange once he boarded the flight. As he reached his destination, Mumbai, Mr Gupta asked for his wheelchair and was told that he would receive it at the baggage belt which was uncanny since usually when he travels, his personal wheelchair is brought to the aircraft gate and he uses his own wheelchair after landing at the destination.

At the baggage belt, he was intimated that one of his baggage was left behind at Delhi Airport. He didn’t pay heed to it as he was keen on receiving his wheelchair first so that he could attend to the work for which he had reached Mumbai. He kept on waiting at the luggage belt until the belt was empty. It was then that he met with a piece of shocking and disheartening news; the baggage left behind was indeed his wheelchair and he had no other means to mobilise himself at the new destination.

You travel, you are tired, you land, and you find that your source of movement, your ‘wheelchair’ has been misplaced. On top of that, you are vexed by the staff members. This was a horrific experience that I had today traveling with @airindiain

— Ajay Gupta (@ajay_bachpan) July 19, 2022

As per the DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements, on carriage by air of persons with disabilities and reduced mobility,

“Airlines should do their utmost to ascertain that any such special equipment of persons with disability or reduced mobility is properly identified and tagged, and is always transported with the passenger concerned in the same aircraft.”

To his surprise, rather than suggesting solutions for the same, the staff was indifferent to the value the wheelchair holds for a person with disability like Mr Gupta and were adamant on the fact that the loss was due to the callousness of the Delhi Airport and not theirs – merely suggesting that all they could do was drop him to his car.

Mr Gupta was made to wait for hours in the uncomfortable and compact aisle wheelchair that has very narrow dimensions and is not designed for longer use. He was not even provided with an assistance to support him to use the washroom during the long wait. 

I had to go to the restroom, I had not eaten anything but in spite of helping me they just said, ‘Hum Apko Gadi Tak Chhor Aayenge’. It was hectic for me after a long journey sitting on the compact 13x36x42 sized strapped wheelchair, I had nowhere to go even after the landing

— Ajay Gupta (@ajay_bachpan) July 19, 2022

The staff wanted to take away the aisle chair to use elsewhere and as per them, there were no surplus wheelchairs that could be given to him for use for the hectic day he had ahead. “I use my own electric wheelchair, which makes me feel empowered and independent because I do not have to rely on people to take me to various places.” said Mr. Gupta,

An assistive device like a wheelchair is enabling and hence, a very significant article in the life of a person with a disability. In the past, we have witnessed a plethora of similar cases where Air India itself has had conflicts with passengers with disabilities that reveal unequal treatment and multiple violations of the various amendments introduced by the government of India. Be it the case of Dr. Anita Ghai, Pratyush Nalam and Siddharth Mhatre. 

Chapter 2 of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016 states,  “No person shall be deprived of his or her personal liberty only on the ground of disability.”

These are only instances with respect to discrimination against persons with disabilities. There are various other accounts where people with disabilities have faced issues with the airlines in the past. The staff did not address Mr Gupta’s questions and merely filed a ‘bag-lost’ complaint which seemed to be a half-hearted attempt by the staff and crew to make up for the omission that the airlines made. 

They even filed a fake ‘Bag-Lost Complaint’. Forget about help, there was no support and pathetic treatment over it. The lack of awareness towards the very sensitive differently-abled is frustrating. Where’s the inclusivity? Where’s the space for those who want to feel inclusive?

— Ajay Gupta (@ajay_bachpan) July 19, 2022

Way forward

In 2022, while we celebrate pride month, dignified transportation is a basic right of every individual whether disabled or not, which they should be able to exercise independently. People with disabilities are stripped of their pride when their Assistive Devices that are a source of empowerment and pride in situations of travel, activities of daily living and leisure are handled in such careless manner. Persons with disabilities consider their mobility equipments and assistive devices as extension of their bodies. 

Every airline has descriptive sections on their websites that laud their unending services for people with disabilities but there is an evident gap between the words and their actions.  It is essential that the Civil Aviation Requirements are followed through, for instance, wheelchairs provided should be standardized and can accommodate the needs of every user. In case of lost, damaged or delayed equipments, a suitable alternative should be provided by the airline/aerodrome operator.

While Mr. Gupta says he woud be taking this incident to its logical conclusion so that next time non one else suffers. Moving forward, with management of Air India going to Tata Group, we hope that the culture and service that the conglomerate offers – resonates in its airline through an equal, dignified and rights-based approach. 

Alliance Air denied boarding as they refuse to take the battery operated wheelchair on the flight- claims Sarita Dwivedi- an award winning artist

Defauting Airline: Alliance Air

Name: Sarita Dwivedi, an award winning artist

Date of Incident : 18 June 2022 (Saturday)

Aiport: Kempegowda Airport, Bangalore

Traveling between: Bangalore to Kochi

Complaint: Airline denied the boarding to wheelchair ussing flyer becuase airline believed that the battery operated wheelchair couldnot be  accepted to be taken on the aircraft as it was against rules.  The flyer was thus forced to travel another airlines by paying the current fair (tripple the cost) with no problems.

Dear Colleages,

Zee News reported on 21 June 2022 about this incident of  Ms. Sarita Dwivedi, an award winning artist claiming that she was not allowed to take her battery-operated wheelchair on the Alliance Air flight and was asked to leave behind her wheelchair. 

The trouble between airlines and specially-abled passengers continues in India as yet another wheelchair bound passenger was denied boarding recently. As per a PTI report, an award-winning physically challenged artist has claimed she was prohibited from boarding an Alliance Air flight from Bengaluru to Kochi. The incident comes into the light after multiple such incidences have been reported from the across the country. Mis-handling of specially-abled passengers have become a challenge not only for the airlines, but also DGCA, who recently issued guidelines for such incidences. 

Sarita Dwivedi, claimed that she was not allowed to take her battery-operated wheelchair on the Alliance Air flight and was asked to leave behind her wheelchair, or book a flight on another airline. She further claimed that Alliance Air did not even refund the amount of around Rs 8,000 she had spent on the tickets for herself and her friend who had come from Kochi to Bengaluru to take her here. She also accused a staff member of hostile behaviour towards her.

Alliance Air is yet to issue a statement on the issue. Dwivedi said she had to subsequently shell out around Rs 14,000 for travelling on another private carrier to reach here along with her friend. The airline also carried her wheelchair in the plane's cargo without any hitch, she said.

However, what transpired at the Alliance Air counter at Kempegowda International Airport on Saturday was a very bad experience, she said. On being asked whether she plans to sue the airline or take any other action, she said she was not sure how to go about that.

Giving details of her ordeal, Dwivedi said she reached the check-in counter around 8 am, an hour ahead of the flight's departure, conforming to the one hour rule. "On seeing me, the first thing the person from the airline said was that if you are travelling with a motorised wheelchair, you should come a little early. Then I got little angry and said I was on time. I told him to get the scanning person to scan the wheelchair so that I can go. Again he said I was late. Then he said 'madam you cannot travel with the motorised wheelchair as it was battery operated'."

On being asked whether the airline official gave a reason for not allowing the wheelchair, she stated "they said there are certain guidelines against it. But these guidelines are there with every airline."

"They said that in view of the guidelines, I cannot take my wheelchair. So either I should leave it behind or I cannot travel on the flight. That is how they were talking to me. I felt so bad," she said. She had earlier tweeted about the incident, tagging Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiradita Scindia.

Asked if the airline offered any alternatives, she said, "they were not willing to do anything for me. I was ready to leave the wheelchair there, provided they could send it to my place in Kochi. I am not from Bangalore. I am a humble person. I did not want to argue, so I asked them what they can do to help me," she said. They said they cannot do anything but can refund her ticket amount.

However, "they have not refunded the ticket amount.. I had spent around Rs 8,000 on two tickets for myself and my friend.. Even my friend could not travel as I was not allowed to travel. Not only did they not refund the amount, I had to, thereafter, spend around Rs 14,000 on two tickets to Kochi," on another airline, she claimed.

Dwivedi reached Kochi on Saturday afternoon instead of the morning as she had originally planned. When asked whether Alliance Air has got in touch with her subsequently to refund the amount, Dwivedi said, "Nothing. They have no facilities. They do not know how to talk to people. They just keep arguing and shouting. It was irritating."

She claimed initially the airline did not allow them to get their boarding passes and then they said that their manager was coming and to wait for him as after he arrives, then only they can do anything.

After a long wait, a person came who was a senior supervisor in Alliance Air and not the manager. "So I asked the person at the counter who had stopped me from boarding earlier as to whether this was the same person he spoke about. But he did not give a proper response."

She said the man started shouting at her that he was the responsible person and that he would be taking the decisions in the absence of the manager who was not here. Dwivedi said she asked him why she was made to wait so long at the airport, if the manager was not going to come.

"I, thereafter, calmly asked them to send me to Kochi. I said I do not want a refund....They said we cannot do that and that I can get a refund only. They said I should book a flight on another airline. That is how they replied. Then they said that I could travel by their airline, but the wheelchair cannot be taken along," she added.

For Dwivedi who had travelled the long distance from Indiranagar in Bangalore to the airport, everything had been "spoiled" by then and she subsequently demanded that the airline gave in writing why she was not allowed to board her flight.

"After travelling so far alone and managing everything physically, mentally and financially, they spoiled everything for me. For a person like me it is difficult. It is in my nature that I speak softly to people and I was speaking calmly to them at the airport to find a solution. They are the ones who started arguing and then shouting at me," she alleged.

Personnel of the Airports Authority of India were present there and provided her with food and water and comforted her. They even tried to reason with the airline official, but in vain. "So then I asked him to give me in writing why I missed my flight, why I was not allowed to board," she said.

Thereafter, for the sake of formality the official wrote down why she was not allowed to board and she also agreed to get a refund to book tickets on another flight as she was getting late, Dwivedi said. However, when the official realised she was going to fly on another airline, he said he would not give anything in writing and walked away with the paper, she claimed.

On how the experience was with the other carrier she later flew in, she said, "they never created any issue for me. They were quick and gave a very good service. My wheelchair has a dry battery. The rule is that you cannot travel with a wet battery on an airline."

"I just removed the battery supply and gave it to the airline and they put the wheelchair in the baggage," she said. "I travel a lot and wherever I go, I have never faced this problem. This time the travel agent booked the tickets on Alliance Air. He did not mention that I was differently abled or wheelchair user while booking the ticket. That is required if I need a wheelchair. But I carry my own wheelchair, so where is the need to put that (while booking a ticket)?"

"Even otherwise, imagine if I am travelling with a prosthesis and all of a sudden something happens to me and I cannot walk. I will definitely bring my wheelchair without any information. Are they so unprofessional that they cannot handle such a situation," she asked.

Source: Zee News India 

Armed with powers under Aircraft (amendment) Act 2020, DGCA levies penality of Rs. 5 lacs on IndiGo Airlines for denying boarding to child with disabilty at Ranchi Airport

Dear colleagues,

Please refer to our earlier post  "On Mothers Day, a Special mother harrassed by an insensitive and arrogant Indigo Manager at Ranchi Airport, India" 

The ground staff's refusal to allow the child from boarding the aircraft on the ground that he was a safety risk had drawn widespread criticism, prompting the aviation regulator to launch a probe. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri JM Scindia had himself ordered a probe into the incident saying, "There is zero tolerance towards such behaviour. No human being should have to go through this! Investigating the matter by myself, post which appropriate action will be taken."

Subsequently, the regulator DGCA constituted a 3-member team to conduct a fact-finding probe. The findings of the committee prima facie indicated inappropriate handling of passengers by the IndiGo staff thereby resulting in certain non-conformances with the applicable regulations.

The DGCA probe found the IndiGo ground staff “deficient” in their handling of the passenger with disability and lacking in sensitivity and thus ended up exacerbating the situation. 

These findings are based on a fact-finding exercise carried out by a three-member committee constituted by the DGCA which visited the Ranchi airport, met the family members of the special needs child , an eyewitness and met IndiGo officials too.

This had led to DGCA issuing a "showcause notice" to the airline through its authorized representative to explain as to why suitable enforcement action should not be taken against them for the non-conformances (as a requirement of the law), thereby providing an opportunity to the airline for personal hearing as well as for making written submissions till 26th of May 2022.

“A more compassionate handling would have smoothened the nerves, calmed the child and obviated the need for the extreme step resulting in denied boarding to the passengers.” DGCA’s Director General Arun Kumar said in a press statement. 

"Special situations deserve extraordinary responses but the Airline staff failed to rise up to the occasion and in the process committed lapses in adherence to the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements (Regulations)," the statement said, adding that the competent authority has decided to impose a penalty of ₹ 5 lakh on the airline.

This is importnat since it is for the very first time for any airline in the country to be fined by the DGCA on this ground since the recent amendments in the Aircraft (amendment) Act 2020 gave the powers to DGCA to levy fines without approaching a civil court for non compliance of Rules issued under the Aircraft Act. 

The DGCA has also said that it will also make amendments to the Civil Aviation Requirement on “Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability or Persons with reduced mobility” to ensure written consultation with the airport doctor on the state of the passenger’s health as well as the opinion of the Pilot-in-Command on allowing such a passenger on board before he or she is denied boarding.

The DGCA also wants airlines to revisit their standard operating procedures and training processes for dealing with people with disabilities.

Related news: The Hindu

On Mothers Day, a Special mother harrassed by an insensitive and arrogant Indigo Manager at Ranchi Airport, India

Dear Colleages,

The airlines may be talking big, but their employees bring all the efforts back to square one. Indigo has worked hard to gain respect of passengers with disabilities for their accessible facilities and timely departures, but if the below account shared by a sensitive fellow passenger who saw what unfolded at the Ranchi Airport on 07th May 2022, is to be understood in right context, it only indicates that disability sensitivity trainings are not happening correctly and not all is good with Indigo too.

A Facebook post on how the staff of IndiGo airlines barred an adolescent with special needs from boarding a plane along with his parents at the Ranchi airport on Saturday has created an uproar on social media forcing the airline to issue a statement clarifying why its staff did so. The Facebook post originally shared by Manisha Gupta who witnessed the incident has now gone viral. 

"The Indigo staff announced that the child would not be allowed to take the flight. That he was a risk to other passengers. That he would have to become 'normal', before he could be travel-worthy. And the staff then went on to state something on lines of 'behaviours such as this, and that of drunk passengers, deems them unfit to travel," the Facebook post written by Manisha Gupta said.

 

 AN INCIDENT OF DISCRIMINATION AND SHAME AT THE RANCHI AIRPORT 

Yesterday (07th May 2022), at the Ranchi airport, an adolescent with special needs, was in great distress. He had had a very uncomfortable  car ride to the airport. By the time he had gone through security check and reached the gate (almost an hour ahead of boarding), he seemed to be in the throes of hunger, thirst, anxiety and confusion. 

His parents obviously knew how to handle his meltdown - with patience, some cajoling, some stern-ness, many hugs etc. And the other passengers were stopping by to ask if they needed any help or support. 

This caught the attention of the #indigoairlines  staff, who walked upto the trio, and warned them that he would not let them board, if the child did not quieten down and become 'normal'.

By the time the boarding began, the child had been fed. He had had many sips of juice and water. His parents had successfully given him his medicine and he seemed ready...except for some big displays of general teenage assertiveness.

Then we witnessed the full display of brute authority and power. 

The Indigo staff announced that the child would not be allowed to take the flight. That he was a risk to other passengers. That he would have to become 'normal', before he could be travel-worthy. And the staff then went on to state something on lines of 'behaviours such as this, and that of drunk passengers, deems them unfit to travel.'

He was immediately gheraoed by other passengers. They opposed him resolutely. They assured the staff that as co-travellers, they had no objection to the child and his parents boarding the flight. Several went on to the Indigo airline website and challenged the Indigo manager to calibrate his decision with corresponding statements in the rule book. 

There was a delegation of doctors who were taking the same flight. They asked the ground staff to get the airport doctor and let him/her take a call on the fitness of the child to travel. They offered to provide full support to the child and his parents, if any health episode were to occur mid-air. "We are doctors traveling with this child and his family. Now let him board," they said.

Other doctors, teachers, government officials emerged from the widening ring of passengers. They held  up their mobile phones with news articles, Twitter posts on supreme court judgements on how no airline could discriminate against passengers with disabilities.

"This child is in uncontrollable. He is in a state of panic," the Indigo manager kept shouting and telling everyone. But all we could see was a young adolescent, sitting very quietly on a wheel chair, terror-striken by how he was being called out as a risk to the normal world. "The only person who is in panic is you," a woman passenger retorted.

 "I am a government official and I can tell you that it is this child's right to travel. You cannot discriminate against him," a senior passenger said. "This is my decision and you cannot do anything about it," the manager said very sharply.

'Why don't you confer with the captain?' ' Please call your manager'. 'His normal is not the same as your normal'. 'Look, he has travelled many times before on flights. He was a just having a bad day, he is fine now.' ' Yes, please let him travel'...

Threats, pleas, dialogue, negotiations, hands folded in request --- nothing  from the parents and circle of passengers worked in the face of that one person who had made up his mind last evening to fully exercise his power to exclude those who did not belong to his world of 'normal',  and  'fit' people.

Then, at the end of it all, the Indigo flight from Ranchi to Hyderabad departed, leaving behind three courageous Indians at the boarding terminal, who probably fight everyday for love, respect and dignity. The security guard locked and secured the boarding gate with an iron padlet and chains, even as the mother pleaded from the other side of the glass door. The other passengers, including us, slowly dispersed to catch our own flights. 

It was late night. Ours was probably the last flight out. As I stepped into the chute to board, I caught a last glimpse of this family -  a father, mother and child on a wheelchair, standing alone in a large, empty and deserted terminal, ring-fenced by airport staff and security. 

As I write this, all I remember is that in those 45 minutes of argument, temper, rage and contestation, the three had not once lost their dignity or raised their voice or spoken one irrational word. Not for a moment did they come across as unbeaten.

"Do you know what it means to be a parent?," the mother had asked the airline manager. "Do you think as a mother, I would ever let my child harm himself or anyone?"

What unfolded last evening at the Ranchi evening was a snapshot of  us . Us as a 'no country for mothers. Us as a 'co country for children'. No country for mothers who are different, No country for mothers who are raising children who are different.

#indigoairline - you are a disgrace to this country.

#mothersday2022

Another account by a Doctor traveling on the same flight as given to the Quint.

'As a Doctor, I Urged The IndiGo Manager to Let The Special Needs Child Board'

The nicest thing to come out of this sad story was the sensitivity of people.

DR SUMIT RAY

Updated: 10 May 2022, 1:02 PM IST

(Dr Sumit Ray is a senior consultant in critical care medicine. He was waiting at the Ranchi Airport when IndiGo barred a child with disabilities to board a flight to Hyderabad. The following is an as-told-to account, recorded and written by Sakshat Chandok.)

I was waiting at the Ranchi Airport on 7 May when I heard that a special needs child was crying. He was irritable and hungry as he had just come from a long, uncomfortable car ride, and his parents were looking after him.

He also had a cast on his arm, and was probably in some pain and discomfort, which made him restless and added to his woes.

Since he was a child with multiple disabilities, he took some time to calm down. When he finally did, it was time for their flight to start boarding passengers.

At that time, a manager from IndiGo said that since the child was "crying and panicking", he couldn't allow him to board the flight. He has to become "normal", the manager asserted.

Since the child was stopped from boarding, many passengers took it up with the the IndiGo representative. They explained to him that the child has special needs, and that he was restless earlier but had calmed down later. And after the child had stopped crying, he was sitting calmly on the wheelchair for 25-30 minutes.

There was also a team of six to seven doctors who were also boarding the same flight as the child and his parents. They said that if there is any problem on board, they would take care of it. "He's a child on a wheelchair," the doctors told the manager, adding, "He cannot be a threat to anybody.”

IndiGo Manager Was Unempathetic and Particularly Aggressive

The IndiGo manager was arguing with everybody. "You don’t understand. The child is panicking," he said, asserting that people who are under the influence of alcohol or behaving like the child would not be allowed to board.

Everybody got angry with him, but still people were very polite. The passengers on his flight and on other flights came together to explain to him, cajole him, but to no avail. They also urged him to call his senior, to which he said, "I am the senior person."

At that point I questioned him, “Do you even understand what the child’s problem is?” To which he replied that he knew it. So, I asked him what the child suffered from. “That’s not important. He was panicking," the manager retorted.

We asked him whether there was a doctor in the IndiGo team, to which he said that there wasn’t one. Then I suggested to him to call the airport doctor to examine the child.

Some people even asked him to talk to the captain of the flight. He said, “No, I know better.”

I also said that as doctors, we know that the child is not going to be a threat to anybody. But he just refused. He was aggressive and unempathetic.

Lacking in Training

I’m not trying to blame any airline. IndiGo has a fair reputation of taking care of people with special needs. But obviously there is something lacking in their training.

And it’s not just training. The manager was particularly difficult. Even the policemen who were there, who have no authority to allow a person on the flight, were asking the manager to let the child board.

He repeatedly said that the child had to become “normal”, to which we said that normal for him is different compared to what it might be for you. He was totally unwilling to listen or understand. He didn’t even know what disability meant.

He knew that most passengers would have to leave to catch their flights sooner or later, so he delayed the entire process to ensure that the child does not board the scheduled flight.

It is absolutely essential that we sensitise staff, particularly those who are dealing with people with special needs at different sites of interaction.

Sensitisation in different areas has certainly helped to create more awareness. In this particular situation, what the media, disability sector activists and others have done, has made people aware of special needs to a great extent.

IndiGo claims that they are good with people with disabilities, and I’m certainly not countering their claim. But in this situation, there was a failure on the part of the system.

According to me, the airline should have flown the child on the next direct flight. They should have an SOP in such a situation, as per which they should become more aware and receptive. Secondly, if so many people are saying something that is in disagreement with the airline’s representative, he needs to involve his seniors.

Sensitivity of People The Only Good Thing to Come Out Of This Sad Story

The nicest thing to come out of this sad story was the sensitivity of people. There was not a single person apart from the manager who said that the child should not be allowed to board.

Every passenger on the boy’s flight said that they had no problem with the child flying in the same plane. Most people in the airport didn’t know what kind of special needs the child had. But they had the empathy and understanding that he required a special kind of care.

It was just this manager and his ego that did not permit the child to board. “You are stuck now because of your ego,” almost everybody told him, but he didn’t listen.

DGCA constitutes 3 member fact finding committee 

After outrage over an incident of alleged discrimination against a child with disabilities by IndiGo airlines, India's aviation regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday, 9 May, constituted a 3-member team to conduct a fact-finding probe. The team will visit Ranchi and Hyderabad to conduct the investigation.

"The fact-finding team will visit Ranchi &Hyderabad and collect appropriate evidence within one week from today. Based on the outcome of the said inquiry, further action shall entail," DGCA said in a statement.

This comes hours after Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Monday, 9 May, said in a tweet, "There is zero tolerance towards such behaviour. No human being should have to go through this! Investigating the matter by myself, post which appropriate action will be taken."

NCPCR Takes Cognisance of the Incident

Meanwhile, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said in a tweet, “An incident of misbehaviour with a specially-abled child by staff of IndiGo at Ranchi airport has come out. Cognisance is being taken for appropriate action.”

Source: The Quint

Indigo boy, my child — Travelling with autism (Indian Expresss)

Shubhra Gupta writes: How long will it take for us to realise it is not just about him, that we all need the wind beneath our wings?

Disabled woman, 80, made to strip at Assam airport - Reports Times of India

Guwahati | 25 Mar 2022 | Kangkan Kalita | Times of India

An 80-year-old Nagaland woman in a wheelchair was allegedly made to pull down her undergarment during security check at Guwahati airport on Thursday after her surgically embedded hip plate caused CISF personnel on duty to suspect something was amiss.

Her daughter, anthropologist Dolly Kikon, later tweeted that the CISF team also harassed the woman’s caretaker when she wanted to lodge a complaint. “It’s disgusting! My 80-year-old disabled mother was forced to pull down her undergarment and get naked. Why?” Kikon wrote.

@CISFHQrs
My 80 year old disabled mom was made to strip at the CISFsecurity check at Guwahati airport. The security personnel wanted "proof" of her titanium hip implant and forced her to undress. @himantabiswa @guwahatiplus @GuwahatiAirport
Is that how we treat seniors

— Dolly Kikon (@DollyKikon) March 24, 2022

Airport officials admitted the CISF personnel could have been more sensitive. “Minutes after the incident was reported, airport officials and CISF officers spoke to the lady and the person who was with her. They left for Delhi by a GoAir flight, apparently in a happy mood. The tweet was made before the issue was resolved,” said chief airport officer Utpal Baruah. Later, Kikon said senior officials, including the CISF DIG, had reached out to her.

Airport sources said several instances of gold being smuggled through passengers in wheelchair, including in their rectum, had made CISF personnel extra cautious.

Source: Times of India

Wheelchair user, a Professor denied boarding on Air India flight- at Kolkata Airport

Defauting Airline: Air India

Name: Prof. Kaushik Majumdar, from the Indian Statistical Institute 

Date of Incident : 07 March 2022 (Monday)

Aiport: Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore

Traveling between: Bangalore to Kolkata

Complaint: Airline denied the boarding to wheelchair using flyer, as the airline felt that the wheelchair runs on four batteries instead of two - which was claimed to be the DGCA Requirement.  The dry cell batteries are usually safe unlike wet batteries and are allowed to be carried on the aircraft usually. The same airlines has carried it in the past for the same customer.

Brief:

A senior professor suffering from post polio paralysis was denied boarding on a Kolkata-bound Air India flight at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday morning, over his wheelchair. “Even after security clearance, I was denied boarding the flight with my wheelchair, because runs on four batteries instead of two, which is claimed to be the DGCA requirement,” Prof. Kaushik Majumdar, with the Indian Statistical Institute said. 

Prof. Majumdar said he had been travelling on Air India using the electric wheelchair for many years now. “I had faced a similar problem in 2017, but even after that I have travelled many times without any hassles. I contacted the Air India office on Friday, where employees recognised me as I fly frequently. They said there won’t be any problem, but that was not the case on Monday. The captain of the flight Mr. Sandeep Marwah declined to allow the wheelchair to be loaded in the aircraft (in the cargo hold as usual), for the four batteries were too dangerous. The wheelchair is designed to travel by air without removing the batteries. The batteries were maintenance free dry lead-acid cells (sealed),” Prof. Majumdar said. 

“I was made to wait for over an hour and finally was denied boarding and my boarding pass was taken away. As all others were allowed to board, I was made to wait and finally denied boarding,” Prof. Majumdar complained. “There is ambiguity in the rules on the batteries aspect, leading to different people interpreting the rule differently,” he said. 

However, in a statement they released Monday evening, Air India said: “When he was asked to dismantle the batteries of his wheelchair conforming to DGR regulations regarding carriage of restricted items, he could not remove the same and insisted on having the wheelchair with the batteries with him in the cabin, flouting all laid down rules, clearly documented in our website and explained to him repeatedly. As there was no other alternative, the passenger had to be disembarked to adhere to safety requirements,” it added, denying any ill treatment or harassment on their part. “It may be noted that there was an identical situation involving the same passenger at Bengaluru airport in 2017, wherein the rules prohibiting his battery operated wheelchair from being taken inside the aircraft were explained to him,” Air India further said. 

Source: The Hindu, Bangaluru

Air4All, new aeroplane seating system by PriestmanGoode holds hope for air travellers with reduced mobility to stay in their wheelchairs during entire travel.

Dear Colleagues,

This is so great to hear that PriestmanGoode has designed a aeroplane seating that allows air travellers to stay in their electric/ powered wheelchairs and travel with dignity. 

Unveiled as 'Air 4 All-, an aeroplane seating system that will allow powered wheelchair users to remain in their own wheelchairs for the entire journey. Developed by PriestmanGoode in a consortium with campaign group Flying Disabled and aircraft safety company SWS Certification, the concept is designed for commercial flights and is currently being developed into a prototype.

The concept design looks like a standard airline seat, but the bottom flips up when required to make room for a wheelchair, with a guide track to help position the chair and an attachment system that securely fixes it in place. The best thing is, the seats function as regular airline seats, if there is no wheelchair that require access. 

Picture: PriestmanGoode says Air 4 All will allow airlines to give powered wheelchair users equal access to safe, comfortable and dignified air travel, while letting the companies retain their seat count.

"The biggest barrier in the past has been that giving greater space to passengers in wheelchairs would have reduced seat count and resulted in a loss of revenue for airlines," said PriestmanGoode chairman Paul Priestman.

"Air 4 All solves this problem and has the added benefit of enabling airlines to retain the design of their cabin on every seat, ensuring brand consistency and a cohesive brand experience for all passengers," he continued.

"Air 4 All will facilitate a smoother boarding and disembarking experience for PRMs [passengers with reduced mobility] and will also significantly reduce the number of wheelchairs that are damaged through poor handling."

PriestmanGoode's vision is for Air 4 All to work similarly to the Isofix/LATCH standards for child safety seats in passenger cars, with various wheelchair models becoming certified for flying. Both the airline seats and wheelchairs will need to be fitted with the consortium's patented installation and attachment system for Air 4 All to work.

Another partner on the project, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical, will undertake the task of creating powered wheelchairs that are fit to fly, as well as retrofitting old models. Eventually, the system will be opened up to all airlines and wheelchair manufacturers.

"In the same way that child seats for cars can be made by many different manufacturers and used on any type of car, our aim for Air 4 All is that it's universal," Priestman told Dezeen. "At PriestmanGoode we design many trains, trams and buses and for all these modes of transport there are strict requirements to provide positions to allow people to travel on board whilst seated in a wheelchair."

"It is wrong that currently onboard aircraft there is no such provision," Priestman continued. "I believe the Air 4 All system has provided a solution that will at last correct this and allow wheelchair users to travel as they should like everybody else."

The prototype of Air 4 All is expected to be ready in December 2021. The initial design is for a narrow-body aircraft with two rows of two seats. It converts the front-row seats and creates a capacity for up to two wheelchairs per row.

PriestmanGoode says it is working with a subsidiary of a major airline to bring the product to market, and the long-term vision is to extend the system to other modes of travel such as rail and metro.

Flying Disabled founder Chris Wood has been campaigning for accessibility in aviation since 2015 and said the consortium was "actively working with all the necessary parties" to ensure its solution was harmonised and fit for purpose.

"Air 4 All is the first system that has been developed jointly by a design agency, a certification body and with input from the disabled community," he said. "With a leading global wheelchair manufacturer as well as the subsidiary of a major airline on board to develop the product, it's a truly collaborative project."

PriestmanGoode is an industrial design studio specialising in transport design. Among its other recent concept designs is an autonomous taxi modelled on London's Brutalist architecture and a pandemic-proof aircraft passenger cabin with dirt trap-free surfaces.

Our take:- For this project to be a success and its quick adoption by the stakeholders particularly the airlines and the users-groups, the consortium has to ensure that the cost of certified model of the powered wheelchair remains affordable so that maximum users can adopt this and airlines find it a win win situation. 

The success of this project is therefore hidden in maximum flyers with reduced mobility adopting the certified wheelchairs, else the airlines will end up continuing the present system in light of legal requirements. The Governments could also come forward to support travellers with disabilities/ PRMs with subsidies. In addition, the airlines could also think of partnering with frequent fliers and support them with this technology since adoption of this would definitely bring gains to all the parties.

The other issue is, whether onboard accessible toilets can accommodate the current wheelchair on the toilet seat. Without this facility, it would be difficult to claim full accessibility and dignity to the flyers with reduced mobility and this definitely can't work for long haul flights.

Source: Dezeen dot com