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STATING THAT airlines cannot deny boarding to “any person on the basis of disability”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that if an airline feels the passenger’s health is likely to deteriorate during the flight, it must consult a doctor at the airport and then take an “appropriate decision”.
In a statement on Friday, the DGCA said it has amended its regulations to improve accessibility of boarding and flying for the specially-abled. The move, which was originally proposed on June 3, comes in the backdrop of the incident at the Ranchi airport in May, when IndiGo did not allow a specially-abled child to board its Hyderabad-bound flight, citing potential threat to air safety.
In its new Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), the DGCA has said that if an airline decides to deny boarding after getting medical opinion, it will have to immediately inform the passenger in writing and mention the reasons.
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The clause added to the CAR on “carriage by air – persons with disability and/ or persons with reduced mobility” states: “Airline shall not refuse carriage of any person on the basis of disability. However, in case, an airline perceives that the health of such a passenger may deteriorate in-flight, the said passenger will have to be examined by a doctor, who shall categorically state the medical condition and whether the passenger is fit to fly or not. After obtaining the medical opinion, the airline shall take the appropriate call”.
According to the earlier rules, airlines could deny boarding to any person on the basis of disability if it opined that “transportation of such persons would or might be inimical to the safety of flight”. The airlines, however, were bound to specify in writing the basis of such refusal.
Following the IndiGo incident, the aviation safety regulator had conducted an investigation and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the airline. It had noted that the airline’s ground staff could have avoided the situation with “more compassionate handling”, but ended up “exacerbating” the situation.
While IndiGo stood by its ground staff’s decision to deny boarding, saying it was done in the interest of flight safety, it later said that it planned to conduct an internal study on how to better serve passengers with disabilities, especially when they are feeling distressed.
