Travelling when disabled
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at 18:14 by MrMichael.
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FDOS_UKParticipantI am fortunate enough to be able bodied and find travelling ‘challenging’ at times, but having read this article in the Independent (not noted for hyperbole), I am utterly disgusted with the treatment that some people have received.
The companies mentioned in links from the article include easyJet, London Gatwick and Cross Country Trains.
Surely we can do better than this, as a society?
18 Jan 2017
at 22:30
TominScotlandParticipantI could not agree with you more that the treatment of the disabled when travelling in this country can be awful, FDOS_UK. Can you add the link to which you refer?
18 Jan 2017
at 22:59
FDOS_UKParticipantI was so mad, I forgot to cut n paste the URL….
Here are the links from the article to other articles
18 Jan 2017
at 23:02
canuckladParticipantReally good topic FDOS
And I concur with most of the sentiments already conveyed
I listened to Anne Wafule Strike, the Paralympian whose dignity was simply and IMO criminally abused by Cross Country’s negligence. A heart-breaking account of the treatment dealt out to this lady was recounted with grace and dignity.Now, I’m going to be slightly controversial , a country that requires legislation to protect an integral part of its society really needs to take a look at itself, and question just how mentally and intellectually advanced we actually are?
I admit to having my own moments of drifting into my own internal prejudices, and if we’re honest with ourselves I’m sure we all have our own moments based on our personal upbringings. Yet my over riding instinct and belief system is to understand the consequence of people partition and behave accordingly.
And, here’s the rub, travelling on public transport is a right pain in the backside in this country. A truly equal society would therefore suggest that regardless of our own personal circumstance we share the pain together.
I don’t see a person in a wheelchair, I see a person in a queue.
Sadly, and going full circle, they say you can measure a society by how they treat their animals and I’m afraid, here in the UK……….
19 Jan 2017
at 09:45
IanFromHKGParticipantBoth the Memsahib and I have, for various (thankfully temporary) reasons had to fly on occasion in wheelchairs. It’s not fun. Airport wheelchairs are pretty basic and uncomfortable, particularly if the reason is that you need to keep your leg extended (e.g. in a cast) – and I am sure there are other conditions which result in them feeling more uncomfortable than a basic director’s chair. I have in the past had to rig up Heath Robinson-style contraptions to keep a leg raised. And I’m quite imaginative, but it still hasn’t been remotely comfortable.
Interestingly, I have found that airport staff (rather than airLINE staff) have been much more sympathetic and helpful.
Perhaps this feeling has been exacerbated for me as a result of the fact that for the vast majority of my life I have been able-bodied, but on the occasions I have been in a wheelchair I have felt very vulnerable – will the helper arrive on time, will I get to the gate on time, how am I going to manage my hand luggage, and so forth. it’s stressful enough to start with. If airlines/airports do not provide these facilities in a prompt and sympathetic manner, that is a serious lapse and should be condemned. The vast majority of disabled people – whether their disability be temporary or permanent, do not choose to be that way. I have in the past had to make up Heath Robinson-style rigs to keep a leg raised on those blasted things.
19 Jan 2017
at 14:35
Bath_VIPParticipantAs a disabled traveller myself (partially blind and deaf) I did agree with this statement in one of FDOS’s links
“The net effect (of any improvements MY EDIT) might ultimately only be that disabled people get treated equally as shabbily as their able-bodied fellow passengers are treated (that needs to be changed too). But that would still amount to something like progress given where we are at the moment”
The word that crops up here regularly is “dignity” and it is pretty clear that treating passengers (able bodied and disabled) with dignity is not high on airlines priorities. So I would have no problem with people playing the “dignity for disabled people” card in order to get improvements that benefit everyone.
An example I have pointed out before are aircraft with extra legroom seats only in the emergency exit rows. I fully understand why disabled people are not allowed to sit in these rows but airlines want to make money by selling these seats at a premium, they should also sell extra leg room seats that are not in emergency exit rows so that disabled passengers are allowed to purchase them. Failure to do so is discrimination.
One word of warning. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that all disabled passengers are the same. This is why I agree with the supreme court judgement on the bus passenger issue where they said that bus drivers must resolve the situation but they did not specify that in every instance the disabled must be given priority. Blanket policies are unhelpful and I have lost count of the number of times people offer their seats to me on buses and trains unnecessarily. My problems are with my eyes not my legs and I am just as capable of standing as anyone else. Judge people on their needs not their disabilities and offer help accordingly.
19 Jan 2017
at 16:02
canuckladParticipantExcellent post Bath_VIP
I’ve mentioned my father and his unique ways on the forum before, and I believe it’s worth re-iterating the point I made again.
Age has eroded his hearing and his sight, yet has not eroded his love of life. On many occasions he’ll join me and mates as we pub crawl around the old town of Edinburgh.
And for those of you who know the old town, you’ll know, having severely restricted vision as well as appreciating reaching the age he has, isn’t particularly conducive to traipsing about with a white stick.
Anyway, back to my dad, deciding to leave the young bucks to it, he left to head for the Waverly and home. I embraced him, gave him a kiss and left him to it. For the next 30 minutes I was relentlessly rebuked for not escorting him down the stairs and getting him on the train back to his home in Linlithgow..
I had to convince them, that he’d have not appreciated me, invading his independence and treating him like a total invalid.
For me it always comes back to the same 2 words……..Common Sense !!19 Jan 2017
at 16:33
AussieJohnParticipantI have to say that I have not encountered too many problems with airline travel in the last couple of years. I am not disabled as such, I can walk – albeit with a stick, but not the long distances in airports today. As I get older I am really starting to struggle now.
On a flight from Bangalore to LHR in 2015, I got sick on the flight. BA staff were great, and on arrival, they organised transport for me on a buggy. The gate was a long way from Immigration and Baggage Claim, and I never could have walked it, even if I was well. They took me through a special Immigration lane where I did not have to get out of the buggy, then down to Baggage Claim. They offered to help me there, but I feeling a lot better, only had one bag to collect, and was able to put that on a trolley. My cousin was waiting for me, so all was fine.
One the journey home to Oz, Terminal 2 provided a wheelchair for me to the gate for my flight to Frankfurt. I didn’t organise anything with Lufthansa, and was faced with stairs to exit the plane, no aerobridge. I managed, albeit very very slowly. On departure from Frankfurt, Cathay Pacific organised a wheelchair for me to the gate. Unbeknown to me, the check-in lady had also organised a wheelchair in Hong Kong for my flight change, and then in Singapore where I was headed. In Singapore, they took me from the flight, thru Immigration, collected my bag, and wheeled me right to a taxi. Everywhere the service was faultless, and I was extremely grateful for the assistance given to me, including the pre-boarding to give me a little extra time.
In June this year, I went to Hong Kong, and Singapore Airlines along with Changi, Hong Kong, and Melbourne Airports were exceptional with their help. I really have to say that the “Singapore Girls” were fantastic, making sure I was ok during the flight, and looking after me both when boarding, and ensuring the wheelchair was ready for me when we arrived.
25 Jan 2017
at 11:08
FDOS_UKParticipant[quote quote=787740]I have to say that I have not encountered too many problems with airline travel in the last couple of years. I am not disabled as such, I can walk – albeit with a stick, but not the long distances in airports today. As I get older I am really starting to struggle now.
On a flight from Bangalore to LHR in 2015, I got sick on the flight. BA staff were great, and on arrival, they organised transport for me on a buggy. The gate was a long way from Immigration and Baggage Claim, and I never could have walked it, even if I was well. They took me through a special Immigration lane where I did not have to get out of the buggy, then down to Baggage Claim. They offered to help me there, but I feeling a lot better, only had one bag to collect, and was able to put that on a trolley. My cousin was waiting for me, so all was fine.
One the journey home to Oz, Terminal 2 provided a wheelchair for me to the gate for my flight to Frankfurt. I didn’t organise anything with Lufthansa, and was faced with stairs to exit the plane, no aerobridge. I managed, albeit very very slowly. On departure from Frankfurt, Cathay Pacific organised a wheelchair for me to the gate. Unbeknown to me, the check-in lady had also organised a wheelchair in Hong Kong for my flight change, and then in Singapore where I was headed. In Singapore, they took me from the flight, thru Immigration, collected my bag, and wheeled me right to a taxi. Everywhere the service was faultless, and I was extremely grateful for the assistance given to me, including the pre-boarding to give me a little extra time.
In June this year, I went to Hong Kong, and Singapore Airlines along with Changi, Hong Kong, and Melbourne Airports were exceptional with their help. I really have to say that the “Singapore Girls” were fantastic, making sure I was ok during the flight, and looking after me both when boarding, and ensuring the wheelchair was ready for me when we arrived.
[/quote]
It’s good to hear a positive experience and a credit to those involved in providing it.
25 Jan 2017
at 11:26
canuckladParticipantAlthough my gut instinct is to rebel against the continual trend towards legislating against everything and nothing in equal measure, I’d love to see a single piece of compulsory corporate legislation enacted and enforced.
Simply put……
A CEO has got to use the services of their company, for a week in a wheel chair.
Both as an employee and as a paying customer they would have to negotiate the barriers and obstacles their business presents to them as a wheelchair user. ..I’d love to think that their experience would negate the need of the rafts and rafts of laws that are required currently. And in many cases sadly ignored.
25 Jan 2017
at 13:25 -
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