News

Volume 9 Issue 8 - July 01, 2012

D.R.G. Impact: IndiGo puts a column on ‘special needs’ on its tickets

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: Following the strong media campaign by Disabled Rights Group (D.R.G.) against the humiliating treatment meted out to Shuaib Chalklen, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability by IndiGo Airlines, the latter has now put a column on wheelchair users on its tickets.

The IndiGo tickets now have a column titled ‘Special Needs’ which says: “If a customer needs wheelchair assistance at the airport, please request IndiGo at least 24 hours in advance. The inventory is limited to four wheelchairs per flight. IndiGo only allows manual/collapsible wheelchairs on all its flights. Powered wheelchair(s) with a wet cell battery shall not be accepted. If the customer wishes to use their own wheelchair at the airport, they are permitted to do so up to the aircraft, whereupon it will be stored in the hold.”

However, IndiGo is still going against the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Civil Aviation Requirements (C.A.R.) guidelines on carriage of passengers with disabilities on not one but several issues. IndiGo surprisingly is on the ‘distinguished’ Committee, which is currently revising the C.A.R. guidelines without a care in the world for whatever is happening on the existing guidelines!