Passengers With Disabilities Ask EU Commission for Improved Air Travel Regulations

These organisations sent a letter directed to the EU Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, demanding that some amendments be made to the regulation 1107/2006, adopted by the EU Parliament in 2006, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

More specifically, the three advocating organisations pointed out that some of the key amendments that should be addressed include eliminating cases of denial of boarding due to disability or reduced mobility, as well as introducing the right for fair compensation in case of an airline denying boarding to these individuals.

In addition, another amendment that should be made, according to organisations, includes providing an extra ticket free of charge for passengers in this category that are required to travel with a companion due to their disability.

EDF, EPF and AGE all are demanding the EU Commissioner ensure quality assistance for disabled passengers.

Another proposed modification that the organisations are pushing for is establishing the airlines’ full responsibility for damaged or lost mobility equipment, which is very expensive and currently is considered and treated only as luggage.

According to the current regulation, mobility is very limited for people in this category, as the organisations point out, and it has been criticised by the Reduced Mobility Rights Limited for separating roles between the managing body of the airport and the airline, which has often left disabled passengers at no protection due to overlapping responsibilities, as well as authorities.

“Although we recognise the rationale and the relevance of the other topics brought up by the Commission during the consultation process and welcome appropriate measures in this respect, we also believe that any measure that aims to improve in a meaningful way the right to travel for persons with disabilities should address the concerns outlined in this letter,” the letter points out.

According to data by Eurostat, the European Office for Statistics, there are around 87 million people in the EU that have some form of disability. These people are particularly affected by the lack of employment or ill-treatment, as only half of the persons in this category are employed, with three in four persons without disabilities.

In addition, 28.4 per cent of persons with disabilities are at risk of poverty or social exclusion in comparison to 17.8 per cent of persons without disabilities.