Ability Forum

[Vic]

Yup - you guessed it right .... its that time of the year again.

Air Sahara declined to allow Mr. Rajeev Rajan to board the flight from Chennai to Delhi, despite him holding a valid ticket & turning up on time, because he has Cerebral Palsy. Unfortunately Mr. Rajan's best attempts to expain them that he is a frequent flyer & does not need an escort were, as expected, fully ignored. Apparently the airline insisted on an escort and a fitness to fly certificate before calling the police to evict him.

He then tried to buy a ticket from Spice Jet but they declined to sell him one.

As usual, neither airline was available for comments when contacted by NDTV.

Fortunately Mr. Rajan is not going to give up. He has decided to approach the consumer court and file a PIL as well

Source: NDTV

_________________
Vikas

AccessAbility

Yup - you guessed it right .... its that time of the year again.

Air Sahara declined to allow Mr. Rajeev Rajan to board the flight from Chennai to Delhi, despite him holding a valid ticket & turning up on time, because he has Cerebral Palsy. Unfortunately Mr. Rajan's best attempts to expain them that he is a frequent flyer & does not need an escort were, as expected, fully ignored. Apparently the airline insisted on an escort and a fitness to fly certificate before calling the police to evict him.

He then tried to buy a ticket from Spice Jet but they declined to sell him one.

As usual, neither airline was available for comments when contacted by NDTV.

Fortunately Mr. Rajan is not going to give up. He has decided to approach the consumer court and file a PIL as well

Source: NDTV

_________________
Vikas

AccessAbility

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[Shivani]

Gosh!!!!!!!!!!

What ages do these airlines people live in!
Its rediculous!
I fully support Mr Ranjan in his fight!! Airlines inspite of being the most expensive give the worst sevice!! I too have always been exposed to there incapabilities to cater to disabled passentgers

shivani

Gosh!!!!!!!!!!

What ages do these airlines people live in!
Its rediculous!
I fully support Mr Ranjan in his fight!! Airlines inspite of being the most expensive give the worst sevice!! I too have always been exposed to there incapabilities to cater to disabled passentgers

shivani

[mahesh.chandrasekar]

19 Jun 2007

Dear Friends,

Sub: Person with disability denied permission to travel by Air Sahara

How many more Acts do we really need? How many more Conventions on the Rights of persons with disabilities do we need? How many more offices and organisations need to be established to protect the Rights of persons with disabilities? How many more?? While in real time the discrimination and humiliation continues to be the staple diet for persons with disabilities...

Here is yet another evidence of the humiliation faced just because you have a disability!!! This time the victim is my friend Rajiv from Chennai and the offender is Air Sahara India who has denied Rajiv from traveling on 18th Jun 2007 from Chennai to New Delhi because he is a person with cerebral palsy and he was traveling without an escort.

Despite having a valid ticket to travel – purchased on cost - on what basis did the Air Line arrive at the conclusion that Rajiv cannot travel without an escort? Children travel by air without an escort. Rajiv is an adult and has the capacity to make his own choices and decisions. He has traveled independently by air on many occasions using the same airline. Is getting down on your knees to shift from the wheelchair to your seat in the aircraft a crime? Is it not the responsibility of the airline to listen and understand the needs of the passengers? Are passengers with disabilities that are permanent in nature any different? All passengers using wheelchairs are NOT MEDICAL PASSENGERS. Where are the guidelines? Who decides? Persons with disabilities have a right to live independently and the person with disability has the right to decide if he/ she needs an escort.

How do we change this attitude? How can we get Air Sahara to pay the price for this humiliation? How can we complaint to a body that the airline will listen to? Should this discriminatory practice be brought to the notice of International Air Transport Association (IATA)? Can we not ask IATA to table a compliance guideline that respects the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities? Where is the justice? How long do we have to wait for justice?

We need to take up this issue independently at different levels and bring an end to these uncertainties that persons with disabilities have to face each time they travel independently by road, rail or air.

Kindly read the story at http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070015952 for further details.

Rajiv can be contacted at rajiv_alathur@yahoo.com

Kind regards

Mahesh

C. Mahesh
Advocacy Coordinator
CBR Forum
14, CK Garden
Wheeler Road Extension
Bangalore - 560 084
Tel - 080- 2549 7387 or 2549 7388
mahesh.cbrforum@gmail.com

_________________
----
Disability Rights Now!

mahesh.chandrasekar@gmail.com

www.geocities.com/mahesh_mobility

19 Jun 2007

Dear Friends,

Sub: Person with disability denied permission to travel by Air Sahara

How many more Acts do we really need? How many more Conventions on the Rights of persons with disabilities do we need? How many more offices and organisations need to be established to protect the Rights of persons with disabilities? How many more?? While in real time the discrimination and humiliation continues to be the staple diet for persons with disabilities...

Here is yet another evidence of the humiliation faced just because you have a disability!!! This time the victim is my friend Rajiv from Chennai and the offender is Air Sahara India who has denied Rajiv from traveling on 18th Jun 2007 from Chennai to New Delhi because he is a person with cerebral palsy and he was traveling without an escort.

Despite having a valid ticket to travel – purchased on cost - on what basis did the Air Line arrive at the conclusion that Rajiv cannot travel without an escort? Children travel by air without an escort. Rajiv is an adult and has the capacity to make his own choices and decisions. He has traveled independently by air on many occasions using the same airline. Is getting down on your knees to shift from the wheelchair to your seat in the aircraft a crime? Is it not the responsibility of the airline to listen and understand the needs of the passengers? Are passengers with disabilities that are permanent in nature any different? All passengers using wheelchairs are NOT MEDICAL PASSENGERS. Where are the guidelines? Who decides? Persons with disabilities have a right to live independently and the person with disability has the right to decide if he/ she needs an escort.

How do we change this attitude? How can we get Air Sahara to pay the price for this humiliation? How can we complaint to a body that the airline will listen to? Should this discriminatory practice be brought to the notice of International Air Transport Association (IATA)? Can we not ask IATA to table a compliance guideline that respects the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities? Where is the justice? How long do we have to wait for justice?

We need to take up this issue independently at different levels and bring an end to these uncertainties that persons with disabilities have to face each time they travel independently by road, rail or air.

Kindly read the story at http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070015952 for further details.

Rajiv can be contacted at rajiv_alathur@yahoo.com

Kind regards

Mahesh

C. Mahesh
Advocacy Coordinator
CBR Forum
14, CK Garden
Wheeler Road Extension
Bangalore - 560 084
Tel - 080- 2549 7387 or 2549 7388
mahesh.cbrforum@gmail.com

_________________
----
Disability Rights Now!

mahesh.chandrasekar@gmail.com

www.geocities.com/mahesh_mobility

[Sachin]

I just went through the entire Air Sahara Website and these buggers seemed to have removed all email addresses from their website, including from the citizens charter where the very proudly boast of a grevieance redressal mechanism but fail to provide any details of who can be contacted and how.

This is definately a well calculated move to remove email addresses, to prevent the outburst of people for the above incident..

shame on the country ..

sachin

I just went through the entire Air Sahara Website and these buggers seemed to have removed all email addresses from their website, including from the citizens charter where the very proudly boast of a grevieance redressal mechanism but fail to provide any details of who can be contacted and how.

This is definately a well calculated move to remove email addresses, to prevent the outburst of people for the above incident..

shame on the country ..

sachin

[Vic]

Jetlite, a division of Jet Airways and was formerly Air Sahara, on Thursday apologised to Rajiv Rajan for refusing to let him board a Delhi-bound flight in Chennai on Monday.

The airline also said it would sensitise its staff to the special needs of people with disability. "We regret the inconvenience caused to Rajiv Rajan. We will train our staff to be sensitive towards people with special needs. We apologise for the inconvenience," Jetlite said in its public apology.

_________________
Vikas

AccessAbility

Jetlite, a division of Jet Airways and was formerly Air Sahara, on Thursday apologised to Rajiv Rajan for refusing to let him board a Delhi-bound flight in Chennai on Monday.

The airline also said it would sensitise its staff to the special needs of people with disability. "We regret the inconvenience caused to Rajiv Rajan. We will train our staff to be sensitive towards people with special needs. We apologise for the inconvenience," Jetlite said in its public apology.

_________________
Vikas

AccessAbility