IT has been sometime since I have travelled in an aeroplane. I am happy to report that most of my experiences in an aircraft in the past, both local and overseas, have been positive ones; with only an occasional glitch here and there.
Like the couple of incidents when I was wheeled all the way to the doorstep of the aircraft.
Only to be stopped short in my tracks literally and suddenly asked by the aircraft crew with smiling faces to get out of my wheelchair and walk to my seat inside the cabin!
For those who are unaware, it is at this point when regular wheelchairs become too large to fit into the narrow aisles of the aircraft.
Normally, disabled passengers at the check-in counters are made to switch wheelchairs into the airport’s specially-designed compact ones in order to negotiate through the narrow cabin space of the aircraft.
Actually, I really do not blame the poor fellows for suddenly appearing like faith healers and asking us to do the impossible.
There are many people in fact who use wheelchairs and are able to walk at the same time. They do so because of their walking disabilities or old age. Wheelchairs provide a wonderful alternative not only for convenience but safety for such persons as well, especially in distance walking.
Having said that however, it would be good idea for airline companies to take the trouble beforehand to try and find out the level of handicap of each disabled passenger before they travel.
This would save airlines companies and handicapped passengers who use them a great deal of awkwardness and embarrassment in the long run.
Another common problem is the lack of proper knowledge about the available services for disabled passengers by some of the customer care staff of the airlines company who answer the telephone.
Last weekend for instance I rang AirAsia up and enquired about a flight that “I wanted to take” from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. When the officer (a woman) heard that I was in a wheelchair, she said that there was no way that I could travel by myself.
You have to get someone to accompany you because our airlines will not provide any assistance for you, she said in a cocksure voice.
However, when I asked her if she was absolutely correct about her facts, she gave me a totally opposite response when she came back on the line after making me wait for 15 minutes.
Needless to say, airlines should get such vital information about disabled passengers absolutely correct before trying to disseminate them.
Though it appears that things are getting easier for disabled persons to travel by air with an increased awareness today about their specific needs, it does not mean that all flights are problem free.
Some airlines companies choose to charge the handicapped for the use of wheelchairs and other assistive devices. Others come up with unfair policies that require disabled passengers to sign permission and indemnity forms before they can travel.
Well-known disability organisations like the Canadian-based Disabled People’s International (DPI) highlighted these concerns recently by pointing out that airlines companies that resorted to such practises lacked respect and appreciation for what persons with disabilities have to go through in life.
Quoting New Delhi’s aviation ministry as a good example, DPI pointed out to the new flight rules that became effective on May 7 this month by the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) regarding disabled persons in the country.
CAR states that “airlines and airports must provide wheelchairs or other assistive devices free of cost to users.”
Other strict rules for airlines by CAR are that it is now “mandatory for every
airport operator to make appropriate provisions including ambulifts to enable disabled passengers to embark/disembark the aircraft without inconvenience.”
DPI went on that airlines have also been asked “not to refuse carrying a passenger with a disability.”
They have been told “not to insist on medical clearance or special forms unless they have information that the passengers either suffer from some contagious disease or would require attention during flight to maintain their health.”
The DPI report also included a wonderful news piece from the Times of India saying that the handicapped who use service dogs will now be able to have their companions to travel with them on the plane with their owners, without charge.
The rule only applies to canines that guide humans "with disability and/or reduced mobility".
"No airline shall refuse to carry persons with disability or reduced mobility and their assistive aids/devices, escorts and guide dogs, including their presence in the cabin,” says the official document.
Disabled persons who wish to have their guide dogs accompany them need to inform the booking or check–in counter about their special requirement before they travel.
A blind person, for example, will not have to buy a separate ticket for his or her guide dog as the animal can now be seated near the owner’s feet.
The animal, however, needs to be well-trained in order not to inconvenience other passengers.
The End
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