Another harrowing airport experience for Anjlee
Ms. Agarwal, a disability rights worker, was carted around on a luggage trolley at Delhi T3
Disability rights activist Anjlee Agarwal of Samarthyam, who was last week “literally thrown off a flight” in Raipur for objecting to the non-availability of an aisle chair, again had a harrowing experience with an airline. This time it was at Delhi's swanky T3 terminal that Ms. Agarwal found herself being carted around on a luggage trolley with no side support as the Air India staff could not get her an aisle chair.
Narrating her experience, Ms. Agarwal, who was recently part of a major access audit for government buildings in Delhi, said she had to undergo the humiliation of being transported in a luggage trolley on Thursday while returning to Delhi from Mumbai via Air India flight AI 660.
At Mumbai, Ms. Agarwal said she had requested the Air India crew to get her an aisle chair while de-boarding at the T3 airport in New Delhi. However, when the flight reached the Delhi airport, the aisle chair was not there to help her de-board.
Request not met
“I had to wait for 20 minutes and finally, after lot of hue and cry, I got to see a luggage trolley for transferring me from the aircraft seat. I was carried in the luggage trolley chair which had just two wheels instead of four and also did not possess an armrest for side support,” she said.
Lamenting that this was the state of affairs at T3 in Delhi, which is supposed to be a “world class airport”, Ms. Agarwal said she had a harrowing time being hauled around on the luggage trolley. “I was not able to balance myself on the narrow seat, my feet were dangling and I kept asking for another aisle chair to be given to me while being carried to the aircraft gate.”
She said she lost her balance several times, as she has limb girdle muscular dystrophy. Apart from this, she “also felt extremely embarrassed and insulted as 12 to 13 persons [both the crew and ground staff] looked at me with pity!”
Due to such mishandling, Ms. Agarwal said she had to be physically shifted four times at the airport. “I was transferred again from the luggage trolley to another wheelchair at the aircraft gate. Then on reaching the conveyer belt [luggage belt], I got my wheelchair and was transferred onto it. Finally, I was transferred from my wheelchair to the taxi.”
Describing the experience as “very exhausting, disgraceful, scary and unsafe,” the rights activist said it was unfortunate that “still people with disabilities are seen as luggage and are discriminated against”.
Incidentally, this is the third major case of harassment to disabled passengers that has come to light within the past fortnight. Earlier in February, a SpiceJet pilot had forced Jeeja Ghosh, head of advocacy and disability studies at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy at Kolkata off a Goa-bound flight because he was “abnormal” and was not accompanied by help.
In view of such repeated incidents, Ms. Agarwal and Samarthyam have urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to come up with recommendations on handling persons with disability and to take immediate action against all airlines that are insulting disabled passengers and violating the policy rules.
Indemnity bond
“We want training of all ground staff, pilot and crew for transferring and handling persons with disabilities,” she said, demanding that people with disabilities should also not be made to sign an indemnity bond as it is discriminatory, since it does not cover people with hidden illnesses.
Among other things, the rights group has also demanded that aisle chairs should be made available in all aircraft for wheelchair users and all persons with disabilities should be allotted front and aisle seats, if requested.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2951358.ece
Air India defending wrong action: Disability rights activist
DELHI : Disability rights activist Anjlee Agarwal has taken a strong exception to national carrier Air India's claim that she was “not transported in a luggage-trolley” at Delhi airport recently and that she had been “assisted with standard aisle chair as used universally''.
Responding to the claim by the Corporate Communications department of Air India which on Friday stated that she was “extended all assistance as per industry standards” and “at no point of time she was transported in a luggage-trolley”, Ms. Agarwal said she was appalled that the airline was defending its wrong actions.
“I have been travelling with Air India for the last seven years and the picture of the trolley used for transporting me out of the Goa-Delhi flight AI 660 at T3 in Delhi on Thursday would clearly show that such two-wheeled trolleys are nowhere used as transfer chairs,” she said.
No safety belts
Ms. Agarwal said a look at “transfer chairs'' used the world over by airlines would reveal that they all have four wheels, possess a neck rest, safety belts in ‘X' form which lock up near the shoulder and around the waist, and have a foot rest which is easily approachable.
“The trolley provided to me had no neck rest, no safety belts and no proper foot rest. It had just two wheels because of which it had to be tilted backwards for forward movement. While my neck was jacked backwards, the feet were left dangling in the air. The Air India would thus do better to rectify its fault rather defend them.''
Ms. Agarwal said: “Obviously an attempt is being made to cover up because Air India never uses such trolleys elsewhere. Even while I was going to Goa on February 25 by its flight AI 865, this very airline had provided me a proper aisle chair at T3 for the boarding. It should thus probe why the quality of service deteriorated a few days later.''
Air India has also claimed that “wheelchair passengers are boarded first and deplaned last in order not to interfere with movement of other passengers'' and that it has “a very high standard of facilitation to the passengers requiring wheel chair assistance''.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/article2959167.ece
IndiGo suspends staff for refusing ticket to disabled
MUMBAI : Following DNA’s report on Sunday of how a visually-impaired Tata Institute of Social Sciences student Tony Kurian, 22, was repeatedly denied a flight ticket unless he agreed to be accompanied by an escort or a guide dog, IndiGo has suspended, with immediate effect, the outsourced call centre executives, who repeatedly refused to facilitate the tickets.
A statement from airline president Aditya Ghosh says IndiGo had spoken to Kurian and had assured him that “IndiGo, has no such policy that discourages visually challenged passengers from travelling with us or insisting that they are accompanied by escorts or guide dogs.”
“It is indeed a shocking incident and this kind of unacceptable behaviour calls for immediate action, including a training intervention.Hence, we have internally circulated an email reiterating the Directorate General of Civil Aviation guidelines (on disabled passengers) to our staff.”
Pointing out that IndiGo is the only airline that has a boarding ramp to allow wheelchairs and stretchers to be taken into the aircraft, the statement also mentions the ‘auto-step bus’ to assist them and senior citizens.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to Kurian, and hope he will see this experience as an aberration and not the rule at IndiGo,” the statement said.
Ghosh also mailed Kurian on Saturday apologising for the incident. But, the apology was in variance with the call centre staff who refused Kurian tickets three times. Irked such an “unacceptable behaviour”, the airline has taken strong action against the “errant” call centre executives by suspending them with immediate effect.
When DNA spoke to Kurian, he said he was glad that his stand was vindicated. “I want to thank the airline for such prompt and stern action.”
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_indigo-suspends-staff-for-refusing-ticket-to-disabled_1655966
Another airline snubs the disabled
26-FEB-2012
MUMBAI It would appear that all the Indian airlines are vying with each other to enter the Hall of Shame.
Close on the heels of the shameful incident on February 19, 2012 where Spice Jet offloaded a passenger, Jeeja Ghosh, because she suffered from cerebral palsy, comes another incident, this time involving Indigo Airlines. Tony Kurian, 22, a visually impaired student of the development studies programme at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, has been repeatedly denied tickets by Indigo because of his impairment, and his tale of woe goes back to October 2011.
“I first tried to book tickets on October 17, 2011 for a flight to Cochin on June 22, 2012. I was refused a ticket. The airline told me that ‘a blind passenger may not avail of their services unless accompanied by an escort or a guide dog.’ I tried to point out thatthis was in violation of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines, but they were adamant about what they called their airline policy,” says a bitter Kurian.
Then, following the uproar over the ill-treatment meted out to Jeeja Ghosh in Kolkata by SpiceJet, Kurian tried again on February 23. “I was hopeful that the Kolkata incident and the outrage it generated would have cured Indigo of such policies, but I was humiliated again, and a ticket was refused to me on the very same grounds.”
The DGCA Guidelines clearly state, “Many persons with disabilities do not require constant assistance for their activities. Therefore, if the passenger declares independence in feeding, communication with reasonable accommodation, toileting and personal needs, the airlines shall not insist for the presence of an escort.” It further states, “All airlines shall provide necessary assistance to persons with disabilities/ impairment who wish to travel alone without an escort.”
Indigo violated the DGCA rules in their treatment of him, says Kurian. “Instead of honouring their obligation to provide me all ‘necessary assistance’, they denied me even the basic right to travel independently.”
When contacted, Indigo spokesperson Sakshi Batra said this was “a training issue and not a policy one.” She added, “Indigo’s policies are disabled-friendly. The company will investigate and find out who was responsible for conveying this wrong picture. We will also get in touch with the passenger to address his concerns.”
After DNA’s conversation with the Indigo spokesperson, Indigo president Aditya Ghosh wrote to Kurian, apologising for the incident. “At IndiGo, we have no such policy that discourages visually challenged passengers from traveling with us or insisting that visually challenged passengers are accompanied by guide dogs!...I can only personally apologise to you,” says the letter. After this apology from the company president, Kurian tried three times to book tickets on February 25, again without success. And at the time of going to press, Kurian still did not have a ticket from Indigo, an apology from the Indigo president notwithstanding.
Besides Spice Jet and now Indigo, earlier in September 2011, GoAir had stopped a visually challenged woman from boarding a flight, as had Kingfisher in May 2011. Clearly, the malaise of insensitivity towards the disabled is not a rarity in the aviation sector.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_another-airline-snubs-the-disabled_1654996
'Airlines treat disabled passengers as sack of vegetables'
Feb 24, 2012
NEW DELHI : After SpiceJet, Jet Airways has been accused of showing apathetic behaviour towards a disabled woman who was not only denied an aisle wheelchair to deboard the plane but also threatened to be bodily lifted by loaders out of the aircraft.
The incident happened with Anjalee Agarwal, who is suffering from Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy - a progressive neurological condition in which a person is unable to stand or move and has to be confined to a wheelchair, on a Jet Connect flight (9W 2211) from Delhi to Raipur on February 20.
The incident cam a day after differently-abled woman Jeeja Ghosh was offloaded from a SpiceJet flight.
"My ordeal started from Delhi airport. When I was asked by the boarding pass issuing staff, if 'I am fit to fly'. When I asked 'what do you mean', he stared at me and asked me to sign an indemnity bond.
"When I refused, he said 'it's our rule and you can't fly without signing this'. I had to sign it, as I could not afford to miss the flight," alleged Agarwal, who is a frequent flyer and also executive director of an NGO that works on creating accessibility awareness.
In a statement, Jet Airways said the guest travelling by 9W 2211 reported at the check-in counter at Delhi with a fractured leg which had a plaster on and explained it was due to a recent surgery.
"As per standard procedure, the check-in staff got the guest to sign an indemnity bond. Also she was informed there were no ambulifts at Raipur," the statement said.
"The guest boarded from Delhi with the help of a wheel chair," a Jet Airways spokesperson said.
When she reached Raipur airport, Agarwal alleged that inspite of airlines crew assurance of getting an aisle wheelchair on board, flight supervisor Niranjan Sen pressurised her to be bodily lifted by four male loaders with the "excuse that while deboarding at Raipur they do not have aisle chairs in smaller cities."
"Hence I was ordered to be bodily lifted till the gate of the aircraft and then transferred to the big wheelchair and then carried down the steps," Agarwal, who has filed a complaint with the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disability, the Director General of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Civil Aviation, said. When Agarwal protested at being bodily lifted by male loaders above, "Sen threatened me that they will not deboard me instead take me back to Delhi as the flight was going back to Delhi," Agarwal alleged.
The airline allegedly allowed boarding of passengers in midst of all this commotion and even before she deboard the plane.
"I kept fighting for making an aisle chair available and refused to both - 'bodily lifting and carried back to Delhi." she said.
Meanwhile, junior supervisor allegedly told her that she had not put a request for wheelchair while booking the tickets.
"When I said, I did made a wheelchair request at Delhi airport and also while booking tickets, he said, 'wheelchairs users cannot book tickets through web booking'. This came as a bigger shock to me because I did book tickets online and with wheelchair request," an agitated Agarwal said.
Finally, after 35 minutes of her protest, a "Jet airways" aisle chair appeared.
"With ruthlessness and extreme rudeness, I was transferred into the aisle chair and literally thrown down the steps, as if they are all trying to get rid of me," she alleged.
Agarwal said, "I think, it is quite obvious that what airlines do is book tickets, make money, and treat disabled passengers as "noonincoops" to be loaded by loaders, as if we are "sack of vegetables".
Jet Airways further said that Agarwal was brought up to galley area from where she walked up to her alloted seat in the aircraft.
On arrival at Raipur, Jet Airways staff met the passenger and offered her wheel-chair assistance.
"She was requested to walk up to the galley and avail the wheel chair which was kept there for her," the spokesperson said.
The guest was reluctant to allow the Jet Airways to assist her from her seat to the wheelchair. Ultimately, Jet Airways staff persuaded the guest to use the available facilities at the airport and helped her de-plane, the statement said.
The DGCA has issued guidelines about the Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability or Reduced Mobility, under the provisions of Rule 133 A of the Aircraft Act 1937.
Section 4 of the CAR says that no airline should refuse to carry persons with disability or reduced mobility and also incorporate appropriate provisions in online form for booking tickets so that required facilities are made available to such passengers.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-24/news/31095284_1_wheelchair-delhi-airport-9w
Jet accused of mistreating disabled woman, inquiry ordered
Days after SpiceJet offloaded a differently-abled person from a flight, Jet Airways has been accused of showing apathetic behaviour towards a disabled woman, even as the airline and aviation regulator DGCA launched separate probes into the incident.
The incident occurred on Monday when Anjalee Agarwal, who suffers from Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy - a progressive neurological condition in which a person is unable to stand or move and is confined to a wheelchair, was allegedly denied a wheelchair to get off the plane and threatened to be bodily lifted by male loaders.
As the airline launched an enquiry, official sources said the DGCA was also probing the incident.
The incident on a Jet Konnect flight (9W 2211) from Delhi to Raipur occurred a day after differently-abled woman Jeeja Ghosh was offloaded from a SpiceJet flight.
A Jet Airways spokesperson said the incident on board the Delhi-Raipur flight has been reported at the Mumbai headquarters of the airline.
"Company headquarters is investigating the issue by approaching concerned airports and will revert with the findings on the matter," the airline spokesperson said.
Agarwal, a frequent flier and executive director of an NGO that works on creating accessibility awareness, said her "ordeal" began from Delhi airport when she was asked by the airline staff, "if 'I am fit to fly'. When I asked 'what do you mean', he asked me to sign an indemnity bond.
"When I refused, he said 'it's our rule and you can't fly without signing this'. I had to sign it, as I could not afford to miss the flight."
When she reached Raipur, Agarwal alleged that despite the crew assuring her of getting a wheelchair, flight supervisor Niranjan Sen pressurised her to be bodily lifted by four male loaders with the "excuse that while deboarding at Raipur they do not have aisle chairs in smaller cities."
"Hence I was ordered to be bodily lifted till the gate of the aircraft, then transferred to the big wheelchair and then carried down the steps," Agarwal, who has filed a complaint with the chief commissioner for persons with disability, the director general of civil aviation and civil aviation ministry, said.
When Agarwal protested at being bodily lifted by male loaders, "Sen threatened me that they will not deboard me instead take me back to Delhi as the flight was going back to Delhi," she alleged, adding that in the midst of the commotion, the airline allowed boarding of passengers even before she got off.
Meanwhile, junior supervisor allegedly told her that she had not put a request for wheelchair while booking the tickets.
"When I said, I did make a wheelchair request at Delhi airport and also while booking tickets, he said, 'wheelchairs users cannot book tickets through web booking'. This came as a bigger shock to me because I did book tickets online and with wheelchair request," an agitated Agarwal said.
Finally, after 35 minutes of her protest, a "Jet airways" aisle chair appeared.
The DGCA has issued guidelines about the Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability or Reduced Mobility, under which no airline should refuse to carry persons with disability or reduced mobility and also incorporate appropriate provisions in online form for booking tickets so that required facilities are made available to such passengers.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Jet-accused-of-mistreating-disabled-woman-inquiry-ordered/Article1-816383.aspx
Differently-abled woman offloaded from SpiceJet flight
20-FEB-2012
KOLKATA : A woman suffering from cerebral palsy was offloaded from a SpiceJet flight at the Kolkata airport on Sunday as the pilot reportedly found her unfit to fly on her own. An airline source said the pilot mistook the passenger for a mentally challenged patient.
The incident occurred soon after Jeeja Ghosh, 42, a teacher at Kolkata’s Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, boarded the flight. Ghosh was on her way to Goa to attend a conference where she was to deliver a lecture on mainstreaming the differently-abled.
Ghosh said she reached the airport at 7 am, checked in and was escorted to the flight by an assistant. She was seated in the plane when a flight assistant reportedly asked for her boarding pass and then told her to leave her seat and accompany them. Ghosh was made to deboard the flight, put in a car and taken back to the airport.
According to Ghosh, she was taken to the airport office, where she learnt that it was the pilot, Utprabh Tiwari, who wanted her offloaded. The assistant manager and other personnel reportedly said they were helpless and had failed to convince the pilot.
Ghosh said the airline staff refused to give her a written statement stating the reason for de-boarding her. “It is painful to see the attitude of the airport personnel. Perhaps they thought that I am mad, and that is why they did not allow me to board the flight,” she said.
While the airline later apologised and offered to fly her to Goa the next day, Ghosh has filed a complaint with the authorities.
In a statement, SpiceJet regretted the incident and said it has apologised for the inconvenience caused to the passenger. “We are investigating the matter internally and action will be taken,” the airline said.
As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s guidelines, airlines cannot refuse to carry a differently-abled passenger. In fact, they have been advised not to insist on medical clearance or special forms unless they have information that the passenger either suffers from some contagious disease or would require attention during flight to maintain their health.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/differentlyabled-woman-offloaded-from-spicejet-flight/914229/0
Rajiv Rajan denied ambulift facility at airport
23 Aug 2011
CHENNAI : He helped frame the Civil Aviation Requirement guidelines for the differently-abled. And he himself became a victim of the failure of the Airports Authority of India and Air India in following them.
It was irony at its best when Rajiv Rajan, coordinator of Disability Legislation Unit, South, and general secretary of disabled people’s organisation, and four of his colleagues were denied an aerobridge or ambulift facility at the airport here.Rajan and others were returning from Delhi by flight (number AI 540), after attending a workshop of Disabled People’s International Asia Pacific Chapter. “We had asked for wheelchairs and seats in the front row, right after the business class.
It is their duty to provide the ambulifts as they had prior knowledge that we were on board the flight,” Rajan told Express.“It is a sheer violation of Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability or Persons with Reduced Disability Rule framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in 2008 and which came into effect in 2009,” said A Dhanasekar, president of EKTHA and associate coordinator of Disabled Legislation Unit.As per rule 6.3 of the guidelines, every airport operator shall make provisions, including ambulifts, to enable disabled passengers to embark or disembark the aircraft without hassles.
“The airport authorities and airline said they will carry us. We climbed down in protest, except for a woman. Air India provided best services till now, but this event resulted in some bitterness,” Rajiv said.
Interestingly, the incident was repeated on Tuesday when Minakshi Balasubramanian and S S Smitha, members of the Disability Rights Alliance, Tamil Nadu, and colleagues of Rajiv, returning from New Delhi by flight number AI 429. “We were threatened to be evacuated. But then, after we protested for more than an hour, the authorities yielded and provided us with ambulift,” said Minakshi.
Meanwhile, an airline spokesman said the Air India was looking into the issue.
Disabled get ambulift after hour's fight
Shalini Umachandran, TNN Aug 23, 2011, 01.03pm IST
CHENNAI : Two disabled women who travelled from Delhi to Chennai spent more than an hour arguing with airline staff on Monday when they were refused an ambulift to leave the plane.
Smitha Sadasivan, a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis, and B Meenakshi, who uses crutches, landed in Chennai from Delhi on Air India flight IC 429 at 1.15pm on Monday. The airline staff said the ambulift — used to raise and lower passengers with limited mobility from an aircraft — was under maintenance and so they would have to carry the women down from the plane.
"The Air India staff and crew said four men would carry the wheelchairs down," said Meenakshi, who is also a member of the Disability Rights Alliance. "The civil aviation rules clearly state that ambulifts should be provided to passengers who need them. Apart from the fact that carrying us violates our dignity, it is also extremely unsafe," she said.
When the women refused to budge for over an hour, the airline staff gave in. "Within 15 minutes the ambulift was at the aircraft," said Sadasivan. "If the situation had been so bad, how did they manage to get the ambulift within 15 minutes? Why did we have to fight for it for an hour," she says.
Air India officials declined to comment immediately. Airport authorities, however, said the airline had two ambulifts, one of which was not working. The Airports Authority of India also maintains an ambulift, which it hires out to airlines for Rs 3,000 per use. An ambulift works on a mechanism similar to the one used to lift catering vans to the aircraft.
"The crew called managers who told us to adjust. They felt we were being adamant, but we explained that we are not comfortable being carried. A Supreme Court order also makes it mandatory to provide the ambulift," said Sadasivan. Both had mentioned that they were disabled and wheelchair users when they booked their tickets the previous day.
Most private airlines do not provide these facilities despite the Persons with Disabilites Act, 1995, stating that disabled people should have equal accessibility to all transport facilities. The directorate general of civil aviation has made ambulifts mandatory at airports. "The women knew their rights so they stood their ground, but rights of ordinary disabled people are violated regularly," said Javed Abidi, convenor of Delhi's Disabled Rights Group, who filed a public interest litigation to make provision of ambulifts mandatory in 1997.
Monday's incident is not an isolated one. On Sunday night, T M N Deepak, who uses crutches, travelled to Chennai on a private airline. He was told he would have to be carried from the aircraft as they did not provide ambulift facilities. "I did not want to be carried as it is undignified and unsafe. I decided to walk but airline stairs are not easy to navigate on crutches," he said.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-23/chennai/29918605_1_private-airlines-airline-staff-disabled-women
Jet Airways leaves senior citizen at Mumbai airport boarding gate
A senior citizen booked on a Jet Airways (JA) Mumbai-Bhuj flight was quick to retaliate after he allegedly missed his flight because of the airline’s negligence.
The passenger, who was wheelchair-bound, alleged that the airline staff abandoned him near the boarding gate and later refused to rebook him on another flight or give him a refund.
It was only after he lodged a non-cognisable (NC) offence with the airport police that the airline offered him a refund. The airline, however, maintained that the passenger was missing from the wheelchair when the boarding started and it was not their fault.
On August 11, Kandivli resident Keshavji A Shah, 80, was to fly by Jet Airways (JA) flight 9W 2533 from the Santa Cruz terminal of Mumbai airport.The flight was to leave at 1.10pm and the passenger, accompanied by his son Rupesh Shah, 39, reached the airport at 10.45am.
“My father is old and ailing so we had requested the airline for a wheelchair,” said Rupesh who had come to see him off.
The airline’s staff took Keshavji inside in a wheelchair, completed all the formalities and took him to the boarding gate. “After that, the loader left my father there and disappeared.I had told my father to give me a call once he boarded the flight.I was waiting outside when at 1.15pm he called me and said that he was still sitting inside the terminal and that his flight has left,” he said.
Rupesh informed the airline staff and Keshavji was brought outside the terminal.“We requested the airline to book him on the next flight to Bhuj but they refused. We asked for a refund and they denied it,” he says.
Angry with such treatment the Shahs lodged an NC under section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian penal code at Santa Cruz airport police station.“After we lodged the police complaint, the airline agreed to offer us a refund. If they are going to treat senior citizens like this, what is the point of even informing them?” asked Rupesh.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_jet-airways-leaves-senior-citizen-at-mumbai-airport-boarding-gate_1575043
