Airports are gateways to the world. When airports and airlines are inaccessible to persons with disabilities they violate not only the right to accessibility[1] but also a host of other interrelated human rights. People travel via air transport for a number of reasons, including: to attend a work related conference, to study abroad, to participate in a sporting event, to support a cause, to receive healthcare, or to enjoy a vacation. The below diagram shows just some of the ways that the accessibility (or inaccessibility) of airports can impact other human rights as laid out in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Airports and airlines can be inaccessible to persons with
disabilities in a number of ways: through failure to provide reasonable accommodation,[2] discriminatory policies,
poorly trained staff, and inaccessible infrastructure, and/or signage to name a
few of the access issues that persons with disabilities encounter. In some
instances, persons with disabilities are not allowed to board flights without a
personal assistant, as a recent case with Scoot
Airlines showed. Another
article reports that a woman with a disability was left stranded for two days
in the Stansted
Airport due to complete mismanagement by airport personnel
tasked with assisting her. Persons who use wheelchairs often face challenges
with lost or damaged wheelchairs, which not only impacts their immediate mobility
but also can have financial repercussions if people are not fully reimbursed
for their wheelchair cost.
Fortunately, there have been some signs of reform and efforts
to improve airport accessibility for persons with disabilities. The more persons with disabilities who bring
discrimination cases against airlines and publicly demand their rights, the
more people who will be encouraged to do so in the future. Easy
Jet
was recently found guilty of discriminating against three passengers with
disabilities and fined over €70,000, providing a significant incentive for the
airline to take accessibility seriously and sending a message to other
carriers.
The Paralympics can be another hugely important factor
for pushing countries to improve their airport accessibility. London made substantial accessibility improvements
to the Heathrow airport in the years and months leading up to the 2012 London Paralympics. Future Paralympic games in Russia and
Brazil will undoubtedly result in enhancements to airport accessibility in
Sochi and Rio de Janeiro. In developing and middle income countries where
infrastructure is not as advanced, such improvements make an even greater
impact in the daily lives of persons with disabilities.
Accessibility is one of the most important disability rights
issues, as it represents integration and full enjoyment of a range of other human
rights. It is time that airlines and
airports be held to account for making air travel accessible, no more excuses.
[1] See Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, Article 9: http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf.
[2] Reasonable Accommodation is “a
process through which necessary and appropriate modifications, adjustments, or
provisions are made, in order to accommodate the accessibility needs in a
particular case.” For more on reasonable accommodation, see the Human Rights. YES! chapter on
Accessibility: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/HR-YES/chap-2.html.
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