Cochin International Airport snubs Paralympic champ

Athlete forced to wait in taxi car for 45 mins.

Joby John

ARUN GEORGE

Aug 18, 2017

Kochi : Even Sachin Tendulkar tweeted how “extra proud” he was “of Team India’s performance at the World Dwarf Games”, but not everyone shared the same feelings toward the champion athletes. Certainly, not the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) authorities. Kerala athlete Joby Mathew, who was the pride of the 15-member Indian team that bagged 37 medals at the World Dwarf Games held in Canada, with a personal haul of six medals, two of which were Gold, was allegedly humiliated by the airport security on his triumphant homecoming.

The 41-year-old, who is physically challenged from birth with 60 per cent disabilities, was made to sit inside the taxi, he had hired at the airport, for nearly 45 minutes while the vehicle was tied to a chain for allegedly violating traffic rules inside the premises. “It was a painful experience,” said Joby Mathew, who added that he was “humiliated” by the authorities for a “humanitarian consideration” shown by the taxi driver. “There was lot of rush at the gates and I couldn’t make it through. So, the taxi driver agreed to pick me up some 25 metres further down the exit, but the authorities treated it as a violation and chained the vehicle with me inside,” said Joby.

Ernakulam district sports council president Zakir Hussain who was at the airport to receive the athlete said the authorities kept hold of the vehicle even after being informed about the passenger’s details and his physical condition. Airport director A.C.K. Nair maintained that they had only followed rules and claimed that the athlete’s vehicle was released soon after they found out who he was. “The driver had broken the rules by taking a one-way,” said Mr Nair. Meanwhile, Joby informed that their journey until then had been pleasant as the cabin crew of all three flights they boarded from Canada to Kochi had announced “how proud they were to have us on board”.

deccanchronicle.com/sports/in-other-news/180817/cochin-international-airport-snubs-paralympic-champ.html

Para athlete alleges mistreatment by airlines

15 Aug 2017

New Delhi : A para athlete today alleged that she was "ill-treated" by the crew of a private airlines and "forcefully offloaded", even as the airlines refuted the claims.

Madhu Bagri, a wheelchair tennis player, said that she had booked herself on a SpiceJet flight from Tirupati to Hyderabad, which was scheduled to take off at 8.25 am. But she was later evicted from the aircraft.

According to the athlete, she was unable to reach her seat as the wheelchair could not fit in between the aisles of the aircraft, leading to an argument with the crew.

"As the aisle was not wide enough for the wheelchair, I was asked to walk or crawl to reach my seat in the third row. When I asked the crew to accommodate me in the front row, they told me that it was an emergency seat and that differently-abled people were barred from occupying it," Bagri told PTI.

"They threw me out with my baggage and left me at the arrivals section of the airport without giving me any solution to reach my destination," she complained.

The tennis player has lodged a complaint with the airport director.

The airlines, however, denied any manhandling and ill treatment of the sports person.

"On reaching the aircraft, the passenger insisted on having the front row seat. All front row seats in Q400 Bombardier aircraft are emergency exit rows and hence, passengers with any kind of disability are not allowed to sit on these seats as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules," a SpiceJet spokesperson said in a statement.

The airline said Bagri was offloaded as the plane was getting delayed, adding that "at no point was she manhandled or mistreated and the SpiceJet women staff assisted her out."

As per the DGCA rules on Carriage by Air - Persons with Disability and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility, airlines shall not allocate those seats to persons with disability or reduced mobility where their presence would impede the crew in performing their duties, obstruct access to emergency equipment or impede emergency evacuation path of the aircraft."

The aviation body also mandates that in case a differently-abled passenger is offloaded, the airline will have to provide assistance.

"If passengers for any reason have to be offloaded, highest possible priority for transportation shall be given to persons with disability or reduced mobility, including their escorts, if any," it says.

SpiceJet noted that it had made arrangements for the athlete on a bigger aircraft which was scheduled to fly later in the day.

"The passenger was given a choice to travel by SpiceJets Boeing flight, which was scheduled to depart at 4:30 pm and she was also informed that the first row seat would be reserved for her. However, the passenger continued to use offensive language," the statement said. PTI JC SRY

indiatoday.intoday.in/story/para-athlete-alleges-mistreatment-by-airlines/1/1026116.html


Controversy

‘Crawl to seat, we don’t care’: SpiceJet crew allegedly insult India’s first wheelchair tennis player

India’s first wheelchair tennis player alleges that she was ill-treated by the Spice Jet crew at Tirupati.

August 14, 2017

In an incident reeking of insensitivity, para athlete Madhu Bagri was allegedly illtreated by the crew of Spice Jet at Tirupati airport on Monday.

India’s first wheelchair tennis player, Madhu Bagri was traveling on a Spice Jet flight from Tirupati to Ahmedabad via Hyderabad. Narrating her ordeal, Madhu alleged that the crew had asked her to “walk, crawl or do anything to reach” her seat. This as the aisle on the aircraft was too narrow to accommodate her wheel-chair.

Madhu says that despite her appeals to give her another seat, the crew tried pushing and pulling the wheelchair, without showing any sensitivity. When she refused to comply with their instructions, she says, “They picked up the aisle wheelchair, wherein my head was almost touching the roof and I was on the verge of falling down, as I lost balance.” Madhu alleges that the crew on-board the aircraft refused to understand her situation, and alleges misbehaviour on the part of officials. The tennis player then says that along with her luggage, she was thrown out of the aircraft and left unattended at the airport.

42-year-old Madhu Bagri is India’s first wheelchair tennis player, and has reached a career high world ranking of 113.

#TNExclusive | India's para athlete, Madhu Bagri, mistreated at the Tirupati airport; asked to crawl to her seat pic.twitter.com/9SnJAtZ9Gq

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) August 14, 2017

This is not the first incidence of the differently-abled being mistreated by airline crew. In the past, Paralympic silver medalist Deepa Malik about insensitivity shown by Vistara airlines in 2016.

The 43 year-old shotput player alleged that the crew were poor at handling the wheelchair, and also complained of rude behavior by the cabin crew.

She had pointed out that the crew were not trained on how to shift a person from a wheelchair to the cabin.

Subsequently, Vistara airlines apologized and initiated a probe into the matter.

INDIGO AIRLINES DRAWS FLAK OVER BROKEN WHEELCHAIR

By Satish Nandgaonkar
Aug 14, 2017

Indigo Airlines was at the receiving end of social media ire after a 29-year-old differently-abled activist, lodged a strong protest against the carrier for allocating him a broken wheelchair when he landed in Mumbai on Sunday morning.

"Extremely disappointing that I was brought down the plane in a broken wheelchair by Indigo6E DELMUM 6E 167 - Big safety threat," Nipun Malhotra tweeted, along with pictures of a damaged spoke of the wheelchair's rim, causing a flutter on social media.

According to Malhotra, they were alighting from the Delhi-Mumbai flight, which arrived at 9:30 am on Sunday, when he noticed the broken wheelchair. "I had my personal attendant travelling with me. When we were coming down the ramp, the wheelchair felt rickety and we noticed that a spoke was broken. It was an extremely scary experience. Once down, the airline staff even tried to stop us from taking pictures," said Malhotra, who is a co-founder and CEO of Nipman Foundation.

The Foundation runs Wheels for Life initiative which encourages donors to donate wheelchairs to the needy. Malhotra not only writes regularly on disability issues, his efforts also led to Zomato incorporating `wheelchair access' filters and wheelchairs being made available at events like NH7 music festival and the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Meanwhile, Indigo's swiftly apologised on Twitter."We believe someone from our team has contacted you. We truly regret the experience and assure you we're treating this with utmost importance. Our passenger safety and com fort is extremely important for us," read a post by the Twitter handle.When contacted, Indigo spokesperson promised to issue a formal re sponse soon but the same was awaited at the time of going to press.

Incidentally, Indigo is one of the most preferred airlines for people with disabilities (PwDs). The carrier has received The Disability Matters Award Asia Pacific thrice, including in 2017.

"Indigo is also the preferred airline for many of us but I am sad that the standards have fallen. I want an unconditional apology from the airline, and it should come out with a Standard Operating Procedure to ensure that this does not happen ever again," Malhotra told Mumbai Mirror.

The incident comes less than a month after para-athlete Suvarna Raj took on Indigo for not allowing her to board the Delhi-Udaipur flight on July 19 claiming there was no time to scan her wheelchair before boarding.

Suvarna had won two medals at 2013 Para Table Tennis Open Championship held in Thailand and was also honoured by President Pranab Mukherjee with National Role Model and National Youth Awards in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

While Suvarna alleged that she reached the IGI airport in Delhi at 12.45 pm for the 1.25 pm flight but was not allowed to board by the airline staff.The airline, meanwhile, refuted her claim and said that she arrived at 12.54 pm, which was 10 minutes after they closed the boarding gate.

"Such things happen regularly to us. A broken spoke of a wheelchair can be dangerous for us who are wheelchair-bound, and Nipun is right in demanding more than a regret from the airline," said Raj, who was allegedly forced to sleep on the floor on the Nagpur-Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express in June after she was allocated an upper birth despite mentioning her disability while booking her tickets.

Indigo is one of India's leading low cost airlines with a 40 per cent market share as of June 2017.

It has a fleet of 136 aircraft, including 22 new generation A320 Neos.

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/airline-draws-flak-over-broken-wheelchair/articleshow/60052103.cms

Callous airline staff’s attitude reflects our apathy towards India’s disabled population

4/27/2017

On Wednesday, cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeted about an incident where an expat pilot abused and assaulted two travellers flying to Mumbai, one of them a person with orthopaedic disability. Apart from changing India’s famously inaccessible built environment we need to develop a culture of sensitivity towards the country’s 2.68 crore disabled.

Last year, Paralympics silver medal winner Deepa Malik filed a complaint against poor handling of wheelchair-bound passengers by the staff of Air Vistara.

There’s more to it than just racism. On Wednesday, cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeted about alleged racism by an expat pilot from Jet Airways. According to Singh, the pilot abused and assaulted two travellers flying to Mumbai, one of them a person with an orthopaedic disability. When the flight landed, he had to wait for 25 minutes for the wheelchair to be brought to the seat. On top of it, the pilot screamed at him for checking-in the wheelchair and delaying the flight. This was done despite the airline allowing them to check it in at Chandigarh from where they had boarded.

This is not the first time a wheelchair-bound traveller has complained of misbehaviour by airline crew. Last year, Paralympics silver winner Deepa Malik filed a complaint against poor handling of wheelchair-bound passengers by the staff of Air Vistara. “The wheelchair handling is so poor that you do not know how to shift a person from seat to cabin chair. The entire staff stands and looks at each other for 10 minutes,” she had said. In 2015, disability rights activist Javed Abidi was forced to get off his wheelchair at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Despite protests, the CISF warned him to comply or miss his flight. Ironically, in 2014, Abidi was part of a panel of activists who had helped frame guidelines to ensure there was no discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel.

According to the 2011 Census, the number of disabled in India stands at 2.68 crore, or 2.21 per cent of the population. India’s built environment is infamously inhospitable to the disabled and the elderly, confining them to their homes. Most public buildings lack ramps and even ATM machines have steps leading up to them. The recently passed Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016, promises barrier-free access to buildings to the disabled, but implementation is lax. Merely de-rostering the pilot, as Jet Airways did, won’t be enough to change the ground reality on discrimination. We need to inculcate a culture of sensitivity towards the physically challenged.

hindustantimes.com/analysis/callous-airline-staff-s-attitude-reflects-our-apathy-towards-india-s-disabled-population/story-sD28yJSGZs8qHfTi8bHAvL.html

An IIT-B Techie Was Stranded In New York After Air India Didn’t Transport His Wheelchair

14-Feb-2017

Shumali Sharma

NEW DELHI : Pratyush Nalam has spinal muscular atrophy due to which he can't walk, and uses a motorised wheelchair. The 23-year-old techie flew from Chennai to New York via Delhi on two Air India flights, but when he landed at the John F Kennedy international airport in New York on Sunday, he was in for a rude shock. He discovered that his motorised wheelchair had been held back in Delhi and they didn't think it necessary to inform him.

The wheelchair was held back at Delhi airport because it contained batteries that are apparently not allowed on the flight. 

On realizing that his sole support for moving independently has been left behind, an enraged Naman took to Facebook to call Air India out for its 'unprofessional and unempathetic' decision. 

He wrote "No, you simply cannot leave behind a passenger's motorised wheelchair halfway across the world just because you 'think' the batteries haven't been disconnected. The least you could do was to contact the passenger before the flight took off and at least confirm."

"Do you leave behind your aircraft's landing gear because it didn't clear security? Try to use some empathy before you take such decisions next time." he wrote. 

Nalam is an IIT-Bombay graduate and had gone to the US to join Microsoft in Seattle. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Nalam said he cannot move around without his motorised wheelchair | Source: Facebook

Air India staff later informed Nalam that his wheelchair has been loaded on the next flight and that it would reach New York on Monday morning, but without its batteries. He was also told that the wheelchair was held back by airport security in Delhi, and not the airline. 

In another Facebook post, Nalam wrote "Those are dry, non-spillable, gel batteries. Perfectly allowed under domestic and international civil aviation rules. As a passenger, I am careful about what is allowed and not allowed under the rules as I travel pretty often. They also didn't let me know about this until after the flight departed from Delhi."

"Disabled passengers are not second class citizens. Neither are we a liability. We live fulfilling lives and the least you could do is to treat us and our equipment with dignity and respect." he wrote. 

Here's his second Facebook post: 

The wheelchair reached New York on Monday and had to be taken to a service centre to be made operational before it was finally delivered to Nalman. It was, apart from the battery, missing the wire that connect it for the motorised travel aid to work, when it arrived in New York. But as Nalam noted in a fresh post, it was treated as an emergency and got done pretty quickly. 

(Feature image source: Facebook)


https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Here-Is-Why-Air-India-Refused-To-Let-New-YorkBound-Techies-Motorised-Wheelchair-On-Board/#.zadzio37i

Passengers With Disabilities Pose ‘Higher’ Security Risk, Says Aviation Authority

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has also blocked full body scanners that would decrease harassment faced by persons with disabilities at airport security checks.

06/09/2016

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

New Delhi: Millions of passengers at airports across India go through pat-down security checks, often leading to delays and harassment, especially for persons with disabilities. An RTI application filed by a disability rights activist has now revealed why this is the case, even though technology exists that makes it unnecessary. Not only does the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) regard passengers with disabilities as a higher security risk but the agency has also been responsible for blocking the introduction of disabled-friendly safe full body scanners since it is still “exploring its feasibility at Indian airports keeping in view the privacy (issues) and health hazards from radiation”.

BCAS, which is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India and comes under the ministry of civil aviation, appears to have not taken into account the fact that many nations, including the US, have shifted to the use of new technology at airports for reducing scanning time and inconvenience to the passengers.

The agency’s role has come to light in response to an RTI application filed by Satendra Singh, an associate professor of physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, Delhi. In its response to a set of questions posed by him, BCAS stated that the “security scenario in India is not the same as that of America”. When asked about the perceived radiation hazard and whether they had received “any recommendations from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on the use of non-ionising millimetre wave technology at airports in India”, BCAS initially cited security concerns for not answering this question.

But when Singh filed a first and second appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC), stating that the matter needs to be decided in light of the constitutional mandate of the RTI Act, the bureau conceded that the AERB’s recommendations were not available to them.

In his plea before the CIC, Singh, who suffers from loco-motor disability and has faced humiliation at Hyderabad airport before, noted that that harassment of persons with disabilities on the pretext of security under BCAS guidelines was a violation of their fundamental rights under articles 15 and 21 of the constitution. He argued before the CIC that millimetre wave technology was widely used in international airports.

Incidentally, in March 2016, it was reported that the US Trade and Development Agency would be giving a millimetre wave scanner to Indira Gandhi International Airport, which was to be then tested by BCAS for Indian conditions.

Such scanners, commonly referred to as body scanners, are supposed to cut down average frisking time by avoiding pat-down checks. They are also seen as an ideal replacement for present scanners, given increasing passenger traffic.

Even in the US, according to a US Environmental Protection Agency document, the airport security screening machines use non-ionising radiation which does not have enough energy to break bonds in living cells, therefore being safe. Millimetre wave machines use low-energy non-ionising radiation.

Millimetre wave machines use radio frequency waves to detect threats. The machine bounces waves off the body. Millimetre wave scanners emit thousands of times less energy than a cellphone. Threats are shown on a generic body outline rather than the person’s actual outline. When there are no weapons or other threats, the screen turns green and shows an “OK”, the document stated.

Along with backscatter x-ray systems, which use very low levels of x-rays (almost equivalent to cosmic radiation received during two minutes of flight) millimetre wave machines are now emerging as key scanning equipment across the globe.

Despite these positive attributes, why India has been slow to introduce this technology has been explained by the BCAS response.

Since Singh had faced harassment in February 2014, he filed complaints with the BCAS, the ministry of civil aviation and the chief commissioner of persons with disability. He then filed an RTI application on October 21, 2014 and followed it up with first and second appeals on November 12 and December 22, 2014.

“I have been fighting a long battle… that of dignified screening of passengers with disabilities at Indian airports,” he said.

On the reason behind his filing the application, he said, “Human dignity is a constitutional value and a constitutional goal. BCAS is humiliating people with disabilities though we are willing to help them by providing suggestions. That is why I am advocating the millimetre wave technology. In the recent landmark judgement in Jeeja Ghosh vs Spice Jet, the Supreme Court had categorically said, “Non disabled people do not understand disabled ones…. What non-disabled people do not understand is that people with disabilities also have some rights, hopes and aspirations as everyone else”.

Singh said that if it had not been for the insistence of information commissioner Bimal Julka, a former director in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the BCAS would not have parted with any information. “BCAS kept denying information on the pretext of national security,” Singh said.

However, Julka said the “appellant raised pertinent issues regarding safeguarding the rights of disabled persons who are harassed by screeners. The appellant also raised very important and critical issues related to the new and innovative technologies being adopted by various advanced countries for disabled”. Given the gravity of these issues, he directed BCAS to provide the relevant information.

Apart from information on the bureau’s approach towards the new technology, the appeal also revealed a “restricted” document in the form of circular No. 23/2005 of BCAS pertaining to “procedure for passenger and carry on baggage screening”.

Section 4.7 of this document dealt with “Procedure for persons with special needs” and “screening of the disabled/ handicapped, sick passengers, etc”.

Singh said he was surprised to learn how the security agencies view persons with disabilities.

Calling such passengers a high security risk, the document said “screeners should be thoroughly briefed that the possibility of carrying weapons/ explosives and other dangerous materials through such passengers is higher than a normal passenger and therefore, these passengers need to be checked with care”. (emphasis added)

It also noted that “the checking of such passengers should be thorough and the supervisor should also satisfy himself that the passenger can be cleared for boarding”.

The rules also state that “there is no scope for leniency in respect of invalid/disabled/sick persons during the pre-embarkation screening / procedures. On the contrary, there is ample reason to be more alert and wary”.

Averring that this “‘restricted’ document clearly highlights malice towards disabled passengers”, Singh said the use of new technology is needed to end such discrimination.

BCAS also communicated through its RTI reply that in January this year it had a meeting with the Central Industrial Security Force, which is in-charge of security at all airports, in order to sensitise the security forces about the issue of security. The response claimed that it had “advised (forced) to be more careful while screening passengers with special needs and medical condition.”

In another reply, BCAS stated that “a training module is incorporated in screener certification handout as ‘Security Procedure for Screening of Passengers with special needs and mental conditions'”. This module, the bureau claimed, had “detailed info and is being taught by all BCAS approved Aviation Security Training Institutes”.

It added that this “module is being taught to the security personnel involved in screening”. During the 12-day course, the bureau said it was planning to include modules of screening procedures for persons with disabilities and would be consulting organisations that represent them.

After much prodding, BCAS also gave out details of the various complaints received from persons with disabilities regarding harassment at airports and their status.

thewire.in/64487/rti-aviation-security-disability/

Disabled woman passenger alleges Air India made her 'crawl'

Jan 31, 2016

NEW DELHI : A disabled woman passenger has alleged she had to "crawl" to the passenger coach after deboarding an Air India plane as the carrier failed to arrange a wheel chair for her due to "security" reasons, a charge denied by the airline.

The government-run airline claimed a wheel chair was provided to the passenger at aircraft doorstep itself.

The incident took place yesterday when Anita Ghai, a Delhi University associate professor, landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi by Alliance Air (Air India's regional arm) from Dehradun and requested for a wheel chair.

"I boarded this flight with four of my colleagues. Despite my repeated request, the (air) hostess did not cognize my requirement for a wheel chair after reaching. The flight reached at 7:30 pm. I waited patiently with one of my friends," she said

timesnownews.com/india/article/disabled-woman-passenger-alleges-air-india-made-her-crawl/30034

Air India in trouble? Activists demand inquiry

2/6/2016

Bengaluru, Feb 6: The disabled rights activists are demanding an inquiry into the incident where a physically challenged passenger was made to crawl on the tarmac of the Delhi airport. The activists want the Civil Aviation Ministry to set-up an inquiry and punish the guilty for gross negligence.

Recently, a shocking event came to light when Anita Ghai, Associate Professor, Delhi University, who is physically challenged, was denied a wheelchair while de-boarding from an Air India flight in Delhi. Thus she had to "crawl" to the passenger coach after landing at the airport.

"Despite my repeated requests, the [air] hostess did not recognise my requirement for a wheelchair after reaching. The flight reached at 7.30 p.m. I waited patiently with one of my friends," Ghai said.

"At 8:15 pm, we realised that there was no chance of [getting] a wheelchair. The [passenger] coach came at 8.30 p.m. after repeated requests from the flight commander. Since security reasons are critical, they made me crawl to go to the coach," she alleged.

"We demand an inquiry into the horrible incident where Air India made Professor Anita Ghai, a differently-abled woman passenger, crawl on the tarmac of the Delhi airport by denying her a wheelchair. The responsible persons need to be punished for this gross negligence. Air India should give an unconditional apology to the passenger.

They cannot ill-treat people with disabilities in this horrible manner. The latest guidelines on 'Carriage by Air of persons with disability or reduced mobility' must be strictly enforced in line with the goals of the 'Accessible India' campaign," said a petition on Avaaz.org.

Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.

The petition with 20,000 signatures will be submitted to the Disability Commissioner KK Pandey to investigate the matter soon.

"Let's get 20,000 signatures in the next 72 hours so that she can submit a people-powered petition to him," reads the petition.

Here is the Avaaz petition: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Civil_Aviation_Minister_Ashok_Gajapathi_Raju_Inquiry_into_HORRIBLE_INCIDENT_making_disabled_woman_passenger_CRAWL/?bsSthib&v=72574&cl=9473467683

However, Air India had earlier denied the allegation.

"We deeply regret any inconvenience caused to the passenger. However, we strongly deny the statement appearing in media. We at Air India give utmost importance to passenger's safety and comfort," an Air India statement said.

oneindia.com/india/air-india-in-trouble-activists-demand-inquiry-2004984.html