“CASES OF DISCRIMINATION”

“Once you’re off, you get taken down to the baggage area in the case of somebody with a power chair and wait for your chair to come out. You get back in the chair and hope everything is working and if it is not working, then you’ve got to make an insurance claim and you work out how you can get about for the next few days. It is quite a traumatic experience for many people “ -Anonymous

Unfortunately, Australians with disabilities have been subjected to humiliating and dehumanising treatment by airlines and at some of our airports. These cases include:

• people forced to use garbage lifts, to embark and disembark planes
• being carried onto flights by loved ones or suffering injuries from falls.
• A married couple being unable to travel together, because they are both confined to a wheelchair
• A Passenger getting concussion caused through falling from an aisle chair (a small wheelchair used to get passengers to seats on planes).
• People being left stranded overseas, without their wheelchair
• A wife had to carry her husband on and off the plane, due to an airport having no ramps
• Chairs are damaged by airlines, some are forced to use ones that aren't appropriate for their needs and others have been rejected from flights last minute due to "overcrowding",
• In one case, a person competing in an international sporting event was turned away on the day as they were told the flight had too many power wheelchairs on board. ( The Airline would of known well in advance, how many people in wheelchairs were booked on the flight) .
• A Queensland woman said she felt forced to crawl down the aisle of a plane to get to her wheelchair after being told she'd have to pay to get assistance off the flight.
• A Passenger with a spinal cord injury was not able to navigate the gap between the air bridge and the plane when boarding a Jetstar flight from Darwin to Cairns
• A French national with severe spinal cord damage after being shot during a terrorist attack in Paris said he was left in an airbridge at Sydney airport with his young family for more than an hour.
• A a man requiring a wheelchair said he was removed from his Qatar Airways flight after boarding the plane and left stranded at Melbourne airport because of his disability.
• Air travel can be challenging for customers travelling with electric wheelchairs.? When flying with Jetstar in 2019, a 12 year old customer communicated his need to remain in his electric wheelchair up until the departure gate and to receive his electric wheelchair at the arrival gate. Instead, the customer was required to transfer to a Jetstar wheelchair at the check-in area. Since that time, the customer and his mother have been advocating for customers to remain in their electric wheelchairs up until the departure gate and to receive their electric wheelchairs at the arrival gate.
• Australia's former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes, was refused access to use the body scanner and was asked to use a walk-through X-ray scanner, with his guide dog put through separately.

Airports can be triggering places for many people with different types of disabilities given the challenges some face checking in, going through security and getting on or off a plane.

Qantas and Jetstar are currently facing a disability crisis that is taking a serious toll on many individuals and families in Australia.?Indeed, one of the main concerns of those with disabilities travelling via Qantas or Jetstar is that the airlines are not always well-equipped to deal with those with specific needs, such as those who require assistance using a wheelchair.

Many disabled passengers are left stranded and without any relief in sight, as the airlines continually refuse to provide accessible air travel. Wheelchair passengers are especially at risk, as these airlines do not provide assistance when boarding or disembarking aircraft.

In a shocking statement, Jetstar said that their "operational requirements as a low fares airline, together with safety and other obligations, mean that Jetstar is only able to provide limited specific assistance to passengers, including to passengers requiring wheelchair assistance."

Jetstar has been widely criticised for its discriminatory business practices. Despite this awareness, Australian authorities have been reluctant to take a stand and force the company to become more inclusive. This hesitance is concerning, as it suggests that Jetstar is able to continue operating in a way that discriminates against disabled people.

There needs to be much more stricter and clearer regulations around what Australian airlines need to do for people with disability. Just like any other mode of transport, airlines should be made to abide by Public Transport Regulations and be prepared to face the consequences, if they are found to be in breach of any such Regulations.