In light of recent accessibility shortfalls, Air Canada has apologized and pledged to accelerate its previously announced three-year accessibility plan.
Mr. Ottawa last week summoned airlines following several incidents involving passengers with disabilities, including Canada’s chief accessibility officer and a man in Las Vegas who had to be removed from a plane due to lack of assistance.
Representatives from Air Canada met Thursday morning with the federal minister of transport, the minister of diversity, inclusion and people with disabilities, and others.
“The first thing we told Air Canada was that what happened was unacceptable and they agree with us,” Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said.
“We have told them that we need a clear plan for the short and long term. We will meet again in December to see how the situation improves.”
During the meeting, Air Canada told ministers it plans to introduce emergency measures to update its boarding process, training and storage of mobility aids, as well as an app feature that will allow passengers to track wheelchairs in storage. reported.
“We just want to apologize to the customers we have let down. We know we need to do better,” said Tom Stevens, Air Canada’s vice president of customer experience and operational strategy. .
“That accessibility plan was built in consultation with advocacy groups, our customers, and external consultants to ensure we reach the difficult areas our customers want improved.”
Stevens added that the company doesn’t serve customers with accessibility needs “because we have to,” but “because we want to.”
Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez and Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera answer questions from the media after meeting with Air Canada in Ottawa, Thursday, November 9, 2023.Canadian Press/Adrian Wilde
Maayan Ziv, a disability advocate, said one of the biggest problems is that airlines treat mobility devices like baggage rather than extensions of the passenger.
“There’s a big difference between losing your suitcase and losing your independence and mobility,” said Ziv, whose wheelchair was “irreparably damaged” on a plane last year.
“This continues to happen every day to people with disabilities around the world.”
Gábor Lukács, chairman of Air Passenger Rights, believes further protections need to be introduced across the country, such as regulations requiring airlines to pay a minimum fine every time a wheelchair is lost or damaged. .
“Good intentions alone are not enough. What needs to happen is that interests have to be coupled with morally good behavior. That’s the whole idea of regulatory law,” he said.
Problems across Canadian Airlines
Nearly 1,100 passengers have filed accessibility complaints over the past five years, including 224 in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to Transport Canada Agency data. Since 2018, a total of 16 wheelchairs have been reported damaged by airlines.
Sarah Turnbull’s four-year-old daughter Blake has been living without a comfortable child wheelchair for more than a month.
Turnbull said the edges of her wheelchair bent while it was being stowed under the plane on a WestJet flight from Regina to Toronto in early October.
Mr Turnbull was prepared for this to happen, but is still disappointed.
“I get my wheelchair in and out of the van five or six times a day, and I don’t break it every time I get in and out of the van,” she said.
Mr Turnbull was on the plane with Mr Blake, his two-year-old son and his parents.
Both Blake and his grandmother Elizabeth, who have spina bifida, a neural tube defect, require wheelchairs. When the plane landed, Turnbull and her father retrieved the chairs and went to assemble them, while the rest of the family waited on board.
“The hostesses on the plane kept telling us to get off. Then the pilot told us to get off the plane,” Elizabeth said.
“We had little choice but to disembark.”
The Turnbulls flew from Regina to Toronto on October 4th. (Courtesy of Sarah Turnbull)
Mr Turnbull’s toddler had to walk off the plane himself, but Mr Blake crawled down the aisle.
“They called my daughter Salamander when she came crawling and wriggling out of the plane,” Mr Turnbull said.
“It was really upsetting because my daughter had two medical openings in her stomach and it was really filthy.”
Mr Turnbull has filed an insurance claim with WestJet, but due to parts delays, his family is still waiting for their wheelchair to be repaired. It is expected to be fixed within the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Turnbulls were fortunate to be able to procure a loaner chair from a friend and allow Blake some independence. But Mr Turnbull said not everyone was so lucky.
“Why have multiple backup wheelchairs when the first one already costs $7,000?” she said.
WestJet apologized to the family and said it was working on the claim and would pay for any parts or adjustments needed for Blake’s loaned chair.
“We sincerely apologize for the mishandling the Turnbull family suffered while flying with WestJet Airlines. This is not the standard we strive to provide,” a WestJet spokesperson told CTV News. said in an emailed statement.
“Fullly understanding the seriousness of the situation, we worked with our disability support team to carry out a thorough investigation and review of the incident.”
Ms Turnbull said the incident would not prevent her and her family from flying in the future. However, some wheelchair users are hesitant to fly because they fear damage to their mobility equipment.
“Every time an incident occurs, it just adds to the overall anxiety I experience,” Ziv said.
“Every time I get on a plane, I know something could go wrong, because we don’t have the right infrastructure, training, and the right infrastructure to protect people like us from encountering these kinds of barriers. Because the system is not in place.”
