Enhancing Air Travel for Individuals with Disabilities: US DOT Proposes New Regulations

Introduction:

Air travel is an essential part of modern life, but for individuals with disabilities, it can often be a challenging and uncomfortable experience. Recognizing the need for change, the Department of Transporation, USA (US DOT) has recently proposed groundbreaking regulations aimed at improving air travel conditions for people using wheelchairs. This move, announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, seeks to address mishandling issues and set new standards for airline practices.

Proposed Regulations: A Step Towards Accountability:

Under the proposed regulations, damaging or delaying the return of a wheelchair would become an automatic violation of federal law. This significant change aims to empower the Transportation Department to penalize airlines more effectively for mishandling wheelchairs, bringing a higher level of accountability to the industry.

Moreover, the regulations would introduce enhanced training requirements for workers who assist disabled passengers or handle their wheelchairs. This commitment to comprehensive training reflects a broader effort to create a more supportive and understanding environment for passengers with disabilities.

Impact on Travelers:

For the millions of Americans with disabilities, air travel has often been avoided due to inadequate airline practices and insufficient government regulations. The proposed rules signify a turning point, promising a transformative shift in the way airlines operate to ensure that travelers using wheelchairs can embark on their journeys safely and with dignity.

The proposed regulations come in response to a widespread issue – more than 11,000 wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled by airlines in the previous year. This statistic underscores the urgency of addressing the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities during air travel and the need for tangible solutions.

Building on Previous Initiatives:

This latest proposal builds upon earlier initiatives by the US DOT to enhance the flying experience for disabled travelers. In 2022, the Transportation Department published a bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities, and in the same year, regulations were finalized to require more commercial aircraft to have accessible bathrooms.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, a wheelchair user and advocate for disabled individuals, has emphasized the importance of these regulations in holding airlines accountable. However, she also voiced concerns about potential reversals by future administrations, highlighting the need for congressional steps to protect and enforce these policies.

Industry Response and Public Input:

Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. air carriers, responded by stating that the industry has been actively working to improve the flying experience for disabled passengers through measures like enhanced employee training. The proposed regulations are now open for public comments for a 60-day period, allowing stakeholders to contribute their insights and feedback.

Conclusion:

The proposed regulations mark a significant stride towards inclusivity and accessibility in air travel. By addressing the mishandling of wheelchairs and prioritizing comprehensive training, the US DOT aims to create a safer, more dignified, and comfortable experience for individuals with disabilities. The public now has an opportunity to provide input, shaping the future of air travel for everyone, regardless of their mobility challenges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, news release, Feb. 29, 2024

Woman in Wheelchair Claims Kolkata Airport Security Staff Demanded She Stand

Dear Colleagues,

Here is another goof up reported by a wheelchair user traveller. Ms. Arushi Singh, a traveler who uses wheelchair for mobility has alleged that she was asked to "stand up" by a security personnel at the Kolkata airport on 31st January 2024.

Sharing the incident on her X account on Feb 01, Ms. Singh said that she ws asked by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel to stand up thrice during the security clearance.

"First she asked me to get up and walk two steps into the kiosk. Told her I can't as I have a disability. Inside she again asked me to stand up. I said I can't. She said sirf 2 minute khade ho jao (stand up for just two minutes). I explained again that I have a disability by birth," Ms. Singh, who is a law student according to her X bio, alleged.

Yesterday evening during the security clearance at Kolkata airport, the officer asked me (a wheelchair user) to stand up, not once but thrice. First she asked me to get up and walk two steps into the kiosk. (1/1)

— Arushi Singh (@singhharushi) February 1, 2024

This appalling lack of empathy has left me "shaken and furious", she expressed, adding that there have been instances in the past too, and shows that Kolkata airport has "learnt nothing" from them.

"Does the CISF manual on airport security ask to insult people with disability," she asked.

"Given that most wheelchair assistants were helping passengers, the officer in question did not feel the need to help me out of the kiosk when the security clearance was completed. Moreover, there was a 20-minute delay before wheelchair assistance was provided," she claimed.

There is an urgent need to re-look at the treatment of passengers with disabilities by the Kolkata airport authorities, Ms Singh added.

Delhi Airport now a Sunflower Airport - Introduces initiatives to be friendly to travellers with hidden disabilities

With an aim to embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive atmosphere at Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the authorities annouced a range of services in an attempt of enhancing the travel experience for individuals with hidden disabilities on 16 November 2023.

Fig. Image of Sunflower Lanyard

Under this initiative, DIAL has introduced a variety of merchandise options, including Sunflower lanyards, pin badges, and wristbands. These identifiable objects allow passengers to signal airport staff for assistance from in a case the need arises.

This step is aligned with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative, a simple tool which lets people voluntarily share that they have a condition or impediment that may not be immediately apparent, and they require assistance or simply an understanding aid at a public places.

Sunflower initiative is the signal of non-visible disabilities. About 80% disabilities are hidden and non-visible. These hidden disabilities can be neurological, cognitive and neuro-developmental as well as physical, visual, auditory and include sensory and processing difficulties. They can also be respiratory as well as chronic health conditions such as arthritis and diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders.

By putting on the Sunflower lanyard, pin or wristband, travellers with hidden disabilities can easily identify themselves and make their needs known to the airport staff, who will approach them and provide the necessary help.

More details at DIAL website.

IndiGo forgets an elderly couple at Istabnbul Airport, remain stuck for 24 hours

New Delhi

A senior citizen who uses wheelchair for mobility and his wife were recently stranded for 24 hours at Istanbul Airport after IndiGo allegedly “forgot” to put them on their connecting flight to India.

The elderly couple, Rajesh Shah (64) a wheelchair user and his wife Rashmi (59) were returning to Mumbai from London and had booked tickets from the airline with the London-Istanbul sector operated by Turkish Airlines and the leg to Mumbai by IndiGo. 

The couple finally got the next day’s flight to Mumbai ater a harrowing 24 hours.

“My parents had a single PNR ticket for the journey on August 17. My father is a wheelchair-user as he had suffered multiple strokes and has undergone surgeries. My mother also cannot walk long distances so we had booked wheelchairs for both of them for use at airports. They landed in Istanbul as per schedule,” said Shahs’ daughter Richa, who is based in Bengaluru.

After landing, the ground staff assisted them with taking the connecting flight to Mumbai. “They were made to sit at the boarding gate with their boarding passes. When a few hours passed, my mother went to check at the counter regarding the flight status. The staff took the boarding passes from her and asked them to sit till further instructions. This kept happening repeatedly and they were only told: ‘My supervisor is on the way, you have to talk to him’,” Richa said.

The Shahs were finally told that the Mumbai flight had departed. “They panicked and reached out to me. I managed to contact IndiGo to assist them. The local staff at the airport only spoke Turkish and my parents could not communicate with them,” Richa added.

When she finally managed to speak to someone on the IndiGo helpline from India, the airline issued the couple a boarding card for a Mumbai flight the next day.

“My parents are vegetarians and need constant medication and medical support. They were stranded in this condition for 24 hours at Istanbul airport...on chairs in a secluded place with a loaf of bread and coke. They were told that they would be picked up from the same place for the next day’s flight,” Richa said. 

After the issue became a media headlines, the IndiGo issued a statement saying that it was a regrettable case of a human error with their Turkish Ground Handling Services.

IndiGo further added, "We are aware of the incident of a mis-connection that happened at Istanbul airport with a senior couple travelling from London to Mumbai via Istanbul on August 17, 2023. This was a regrettable case of a human error with our Turkish Ground Handling Services, due to which the passengers missed their connecting flight to Mumbai. The IndiGo team at Istanbul extended assistance and provided them with the next available direct flight option. We have already taken up this incident to our partner airline and extend our sincere apologies to the affected passengers."

SriLankan Airlines denied boarding to a 15-yr-old boy with autism from Bengaluru Airport

A 15-year-old boy with autism was denied boarding a Sri Lankan Airlines flight on May 16, 2023 from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.

According to a Times of India report, the boy was denied after it was suspected that he could create a problem for fellow passengers and pilots. It further stated that crew members of the aircraft kept following the 15-year-old boy, following which the mother complained to the airport police and the airline. However, the incident has come to light recently. 

"Two male ground staffers of Sri Lankan Airlines came up to us and asked questions about our 15-year-old younger son, who has autism and communicates using a mobile app. Shockingly, they began to say that he would be a threat to the pilots and fellow passengers on the plane if allowed to board. My son was hearing all this and stood scared holding our hands," the mother told Times of India.

She further said, "It became very intimidating for her son and also us, with the two men following us all the way to the aircraft as if to catch something untoward."

The report also stated that the family was carrying the boy's unique disability ID (UDID) card, which is issued by the Government of India. Even after showing the UDID card, the officials demanded a certificate from the treating doctor, which states that he could board the flight.

However, the boy was allowed to board the flight after his mother fought against the decision of the airlines and after a nearly two-hour ordeal.

The boy's mother also informed the officials, "Autism is not a disease and there is no need for a doctor to treat him, let alone authenticate him to fly. He is a well-travelled boy and his last trip was to Dubai, and he has never been harassed over his condition."

Source: Business Standard 

Delta Flight Products will feature New Seat Prototype for Passengers with Reduced Mobility at 2023 Aircraft Interiors Expo as per their press release

Below is reproduced from the Press Release by DeltaTechops.com dated 31 May 2023, without any change.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

At next week’s annual Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, Delta Flight Products (DFP) will debut a full prototype of a first-of-its kind airplane seat that allows customers who use a powered wheelchair to remain in their own wheelchairs for the entire journey.

DFP has partnered with UK-based consortium Air4All on the seat, which converts a standard passenger seat to an accommodation for wheelchair restraint.

The patented design offers comfort and safety for all passengers by providing access to headrest, center console tray tables and cocktail table that adjust to serve passengers with wheelchairs in place. The product also enables airlines to retain the design of their cabin on every seat.

Implementation of the seat will also facilitate a more seamless boarding and disembarking experience for PRM.

“DFP delivers highly engineered products and services to fill service gaps, solve operational challenges and transform the experience of customers and crewmembers,” said Rick Salanitri – President of Delta Flight Products. “Air4All is collaborating with DFP and our strong production and manufacturing capabilities to explore new ways to deliver equal access to comfort, safety, and dignity for all customers. This patented design offers new possibilities for customers with disabilities to enjoy a travel experience they truly deserve.”

“An innovation like this in air travel provides those with reduced mobility a safe and comfortable way for them to travel and remain in their own power wheelchair,” said Chris Wood, Founder of Flying Disabled.  “It has taken truly a collaborative effort to develop this seat and we believe this product provides an optimal solution for all parties.”

Following the exhibition, the seat will be sent for final design and validation. Testing and certification programs to install the seat will begin once certified.

Delta Flight Products (DFP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, which is committed to and has long engaged in a variety of initiatives to increase air travel accessibility while continuously innovating and evolving in this space. At Delta, this includes working closely with their long-standing Advisory Board on Disability in creating experiences pertaining to aircraft, airport renovations, procedures and more.

ABOUT DELTA FLIGHT PRODUCTS

Delta Flight Products (DFP) was established to re-think aircraft interiors. DFP offers modern solutions to airline interiors through the engineering and production of cabin design, technological systems, cabin furnishings, food/beverage galleys, and storage equipment. DFP provides full-service engineering, certification, and manufacturing to create innovative aircraft interior solutions to airlines around the world.

ABOUT AIR4ALL

Air 4 All is a consortium formed of PriestmanGoode, Flying Disabled, SWS Certification and Sunrise Medical. Each member of the consortium has a personal and professional commitment to creating solutions around accessibility in air travel. Through a combination of industrial design, passenger experience design, aircraft cabin and airport accessibility, aircraft certification and regulation; and wheelchair design and manufacturing, the consortium has been developing the Air 4 All concept since 2019. It has been recognised as a finalist in the 2022 Crystal Cabin Awards and has featured in media and conferences dedicated to the topic of accessibility across the world.

Source : DeltaTechOps

More information on : AircraftInteriorsInternational dot com. 

The Mobile Aids on Board Improve Lives and Empower All Act - a bill introduced in US Senate and House to improve air travel for passengers with disabilities.

Passengers with disabilities have described harrowing problems during air travel, including bungled security screenings, risky transfers onto planes, and lost and damaged wheelchairs.

Their plight has caught the attention of Congress, where bipartisan bills focused on improving air travel for people with disabilities are being introduced in both the House and Senate.

The Mobility Aids on Board Improve Lives and Empower All Act, introduced on 05 May 2023, would require the Transportation Department to publicly report on the type of damage that occurs to wheelchairs and other mobility aids. It would require airline carriers to provide information to passengers to ensure a mobility aid can safely fit on a plane.

It would also order the Transportation Department to research the technical and financial feasibility of allowing passengers to board a flight directly in their wheelchair, rather than being transferred out of their wheelchairs and put into a regular seat.

The Mobile Act was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and in the House by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Pete Stauber (R-Minn.).

The act comes as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding and programs this year. Disabled passengers have called for more airline accountability and accessibility to be included in the reauthorization act.

“For passengers who use wheelchairs, traveling can oftentimes be difficult and frustrating,” Thune said. “I’m proud to join Senator Duckworth in introducing this common-sense legislation that would improve safety and accessibility for individuals who use mobility aids to help ensure their travel experience is as smooth and hassle-free as possible.”

In 2022, 11,389 wheelchairs, power wheelchairs and scooters were lost, damaged, delayed or stolen, the highest number since the Transportation Department was first required to report on this data in 2018.

Duckworth, who uses a wheelchair, said consumers don’t have information about the extent of the damage done, which is crucial to empower disabled people to make better decisions about which airlines to fly.

For example, while armrests and footrests tend to break a lot, this type of damage doesn’t render a device inoperable. But right now, there’s no way to know which airlines consistently cause catastrophic damage to wheelchairs versus those that report minor damage.

“It would be good for me as a wheelchair user to know that a particular airline does a lot of damage,” Duckworth said.

And if someone’s mobility aid, which could be a wheelchair, scooter or walker, does not fit through the opening of a plane’s cargo hold, customers with disabilities are either forced to leave the plane and get moved to another flight, or agree to have their mobility aid sent on a different flight, which can leave them stranded at the next airport until it arrives.

“For some people, just being moved in and out of your wheelchair is a medical risk,” Duckworth said.

For many disabled people, the goal is to be able to directly board a flight in their wheelchair or power wheelchair. Doing so would ensure that their devices aren’t damaged or lost, and would eliminate the risk of being dropped or injured during a seat transfer, said Heather Ansley, associate executive director of government relations with Paralyzed Veterans of America.

“This isn’t just a customer service issue; this is actually a safety issue,” she said. “If people don’t have access to their devices or a safe way to board the plane, then they’re subjecting themselves to injury.”

And while redesigning planes to accommodate wheelchairs would cost money, Duckworth said she believes doing so would benefit the economy in the long run, especially because the country’s aging population is more likely to use wheelchair in the future.

“The idea of a convertible seat is not new. We have it on trains, we have it on buses,” Duckworth said. “It is very much possible, and I’d like to get the studies done to see how viable it is in terms of commercial air travel.”

Airlines for America, a trade group representing air carriers, said it supports the bill and wants to ensure a positive and safe experience for all passengers, including those with disabilities.

“We are committed to continuing to work with the disability community, aircraft and mobility aid manufacturers and safety regulators to explore safe and feasible aircraft solutions that reduce barriers to air travel,” Marli Collier, a spokeswoman for the association, said in a statement.

A 2021 report found that on most airplanes, removing two rows of seats should allow the installation of in-cabin wheelchair securement systems with no formidable issues. The report noted that further studies on feasibility and safety are needed.

Source: The Guardian