In a perfect world you would like to think that everyone would be able to take advantage of cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, or cheap vacation packages. Unfortunately two recent instances stand as examples of how traveling can be difficult, if not impossible, for people with disabilities.
In October a blind American was refused entry onto a plane flying from Dubai to Amman, Jordan, on flydubai because of his disability and the fact that he was traveling unaccompanied. In a second incident, a passenger with cerebral palsy at Palm Beach International Airport walked onto a US Airways plane destined for Kansas City only to be asked to exit the plane after an airline employee decided that he was too disabled to fly by himself.
US Airways defended its employees actions saying The airline requires that the passenger has to be physically able to assist himself or herself in the event of an emergency. If the passenger cannot, the airline requires that someone else travels with the passenger who can provide assistance in the event of an emergency.
The passenger in question said that he has flown over 500,000 miles on his own to give motivational speeches. This passenger flew solo two days later on another airline, but missed the speech he had been scheduled to deliver at the National Self Advocacy Conference.
According to Eric Lipp, executive director of the Open Doors Organization, a nonprofit group serving the disabled, the passenger or the gate attendant in the US airways case should have asked for a Complaint Resolution Official (CRO). Lipp contends that a properly trained CRO would have settled this problem quickly at the gate.
Airlines have the right to require disabled passengers to fly with attendants, and may deny boarding if a disabled passenger refuses. However, if the passenger agrees, then it is the responsibility of the airline to find an attendant, at the airlines expense, said Lipp.
Given that disabled people spend approximately $15 billion annually on travel, airline personnel need to be trained as to how to properly interact with such passengers.
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