An EU Common Transport Policy

european disability forum

EDF response paper

on Air Passengers’ Rights

EDF DOC 00/02

"States should recognise the rights of organisations of persons with disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at national, regional and local levels. States should also recognise the advisory role of organisations of persons with disabilities in decision-making on disability matters."

Rule 18 of the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

Doc EDF 00/02 EDF Response paper on Air Passengers’ Rights

This document has been prepared by EDF further to a consultation procedure amongst its members on the basis of the "AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION A Consultation Document on Consumer Protection in Air Transport" aConsultation document issued by the DG on Energy and Transport of the European Commission.

This document is available in English, and on diskette or in large-print upon demand from the EDF Secretariat.

List of contents

1Introduction......

2General remarks......

3Specific comments......

4Other issues not within the scope of the document but still relevant

5Conclusion......

ANNEX I: About the EDF and other documentation......

A.1About the EDF......

A.2Other relevant EDF documents:......

A.3Contact person at the EDF Secretariat:......

1Introduction

The European Disability Forum (EDF) was established in 1997 as an independent European organisation of disabled people. The EDF represents the united voice of 37 million disabled people in Europe. EDF is composed of 70 representative European non-governmental organisations in the disability field as well as of 17 national councils of disabled people from the EU/EEA Member States. The objective of the European Disability Forum is to advance the social, political, civil and human rights of disabled people in all the relevant institutions, international organisations and agencies of the European Union in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination.

This response paper is based on comments received from the EDF’s member organisations representing the wide-ranging views of disabled peoples with different disabilities expressed their concerns as air passengers.

2General remarks

The non-discrimination clause, Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty, provides a pledge from the European Union to combat discrimination against disabled people. Article 13 relates also to EU policy on air transport and the principle of free movement of European citizens as does Declaration 22 of the Amsterdam Treaty which requires the needs of disabled people to be taken into account for measures relating to Article 95 of the Treaty. As the EU is open to consideration of a Charter on Fundamental Rights as well as other specific rights, it is important that the EU recognises and ensures an Internal Market in air travel open to all citizens, including disabled citizens.

The EDF welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to produce a Consultation Document on Consumer Protection on Air Transport and welcomes the Commission’s suggestion for a Passengers Charter which would aim to ensure that all air passengers would enjoy a minimum standard of service. However, the document only takes up, to a marginal degree, the particular problems faced by disabled people regarding air transport and the discrimination disabled passengers regularly face by the airline industry. Many of the barriers disabled people face as air passengers can be easily overcome by means of simple adaptations in design and layout in accordance with the principles of design-for-all accompanied by comprehensive staff training to improve awareness of the needs of disabled passengers. In addition, measures should be introduced to ensure information is accessible to all passengers including disabled persons, in particular those persons with hearing or visual disabilities and for people with learning disabilities.

Such measures are simple and relatively inexpensive to introduce but would greatly improve the accessibility of air travel for all passengers, not only for disabled air passengers, but also for example older people and parents with children.

3Specific comments

It is disappointing that the Commission proposal makes only one reference to the needs of disabled passengers in part B, point 1.5, concerning seat allocation. The Commission proposal must recognise the rights of disabled air passengers should cover a broader range of issues in order for air travel to be fully accessible for disabled air passengers; notably:

Planning and organisation of trips

Airport accessibility and services

Boarding and disembarking of planes

Accessibility and service inside planes

Compliance procedures

Below, the EDF sets down the particular concerns expressed by disabled people as air passengers which can and must be addressed by the Commission proposal on air passenger rights if disabled people are not to continue to face discrimination by the air line industry:

Unjustifiable reasons on security are used on a regular basis to discriminate against disabled air passengers and deny disabled passengers rights to board an aircraft or to present restrictions on seat allocation. In some cases, disabled passengers are even required to sign a declaration that they will not be any trouble to non-disabled passengers which is totally unjustifiable and blatantly discriminatory.

Liability should be established for airlines, airports or their subcontractors in cases of failure to provide assistance to disabled passengers. Many cases are reported on failure to provide assistance, in particular in the event of code sharing and interlining.

Reduced fares should be considered by airlines for essential guides/assistants of disabled people whose special needs cannot be supported by cabin crews, e.g. assistance of deafblind people (viz. Chapter C – Airline business practises, point 4.7).

Cabin crews should be provided with adequate training on how to support disabled people in particular blind or visually impaired passengers. Information facilities for sensory impaired passengers must be available on board the aircraft and the airline staff must be trained in servicing disabled passengers in particular blind, deaf or hard of hearing passengers and passengers with learning disabilities.

Airlines should develop special procedures for the transport of technical equipment required by disabled passengers (such as wheelchairs). Airlines must be made liable to refund passengers who have their wheelchairs destroyed during transport by the airline. Disabled passengers who are not able to bring their own wheelchairs on the same flights as they take themselves should be compensated.

Airlines should develop standard and well-trained procedures on how to provide services for disabled passengers.

Exceptions should be made to the rules demanding that disabled air passengers should leave the plane after the other passengers in cases where that means the disabled air passenger would risk losing a connecting flight.

In case of both code sharing and interlining, it should be ensured that disabled peoples’ rights are safeguarded (Viz. Chapter C- Airline business practices, points 1 and 2.)

Airlines should not be permitted to charge extra for services rendered to disabled people which is sometimes the case among low cost airlines.

Airlines should inform disabled air passengers beforehand if there is a limit in the number of wheelchairs accepted for any one flight and how many may be accepted at a time.

Airlines must permit guide dogs or other service animals with appropriate identification to accompany disabled passengers during flights.

4Other issues not within the scope of the document but still relevant are:

Wheelchair users must be offered private and isolated scanning at security checks at airports. Currently this procedure is often done in public which is unpleasant for disabled passengers.

The specific needs of deaf passengers using cochlea implants should be given attention. These devices sometimes cause difficulties in the security check at airports which is unpleasant for deaf passengers using such implants.

Rules should be harmonised governing the provision of assistance services in airports. Currently some airlines run their own airport services, while others hire such services via partner airlines or assistance is provide by airport staff or subcontractors. These different systems lead to different and confusing operating rules which disabled passengers cannot always be aware of. For example, there are incidents where disabled passengers are being denied assistance because they did not request it at least 48 hours beforehand, whereas in other cases with other carriers disabled passengers may receive on the spot assistance.

Other areas requiring attention include accessible terminal transportation systems, boarding chair standards, lifts for persons unable to board small aircraft, accessible lavatories on narrow body aircraft.

This is not an exhaustive list but illustrates the width of problems faced by disabled people as air passengers.

5Conclusion

The European Disability Forum welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to launch a debate on air passengers rights in general but will once again emphasise the need to consider the special needs of disabled passengers. These issues must be addressed if the EU is to ensure equal opportunities, non-discrimination and free movement for all EU citizens including disabled citizens.

The EDF therefore requests that the European Commission takes on board all the points raised in this EDF response paper on Air Passenger Rights in the EU in the development of European legislation in this field and recognises the absolute need to involve the European Disability Forum and its membership disability organisations in the work ahead.

ANNEX I: About the EDF and other documentation

A.1About the EDF

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is a European umbrella organisationwith 70 European NGOs and 17 National Councils from all of the EU, plus Norway and Iceland, as members. EDF represents the interests of 37 million disabled citizens in the EU. Our mission is to advance disabled people’s human rights and promote equal opportunities in the EU Institutions and Member States in accordance with principles of non-discrimination.

A.2Other relevant EDF documents:

EDF 00/02Portuguese Presidency Memorandum (2000-02 – EN-PT)

EDF 99/13How Article 13 can Combat Disability discrimination (1999-11 EN/FR)

EDF 99/11 The Free Movement of People in the European Union (1999-11 EN)

EDF 99/7Access and mobility for disabled people, an EDF response to EU CTP (1999-04 EN)

EDF 99/1Equality- nothing more, nothing less (1999-01 EN)

EDF 98/3EDF Guide to the Amsterdam Treaty (1998-03 EN/FR/DE/ES)

A.3Contact person at the EDF Secretariat:

Stefan Trömel, Director (T: +32-2-282.46.06 E-mail: )
Rudolph Brynn, Policy Officer (T: +32-2-282.46.05 E-mail: )

More information about EDF is available on the EDF homepage at : Should you have any problems in accessing the documentation, please contact the EDF Secretariat.

EDF Response paper on Air Passengers’ Rights – DOC EDF 00/02