2007/07/17
Minister wants AirAsia to settle wheelchair issueSEPANG: Settle the problem fast.
This was Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy’s directive to AirAsia and Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) over complaints from wheelchair-bound passengers that the low-cost carrier had refused to accommodate them on its flights.An unhappy Chan said he wanted solutions to the problem — quickly.
The government, he said, felt that all assistance to help disabled air travellers must be extended.
He was met at the launch of AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen flight at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal here.
On Sunday, members of the Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport Group staged a peaceful protest at the terminal over the airline’s refusal to accept passengers requiring special assistance.The group called on the airline to provide facilities for passengers who were immobile and those with limited mobility and for MAHB to ensure all new and old airports were equipped with facilities for the disabled.
AirAsia chief executive Datuk Tony Fernandes, meanwhile, denied that the airline had turned away wheelchair-bound passengers.
He said ground staff would take such passengers to the aircraft and physically carry them onboard.
“We do not even charge for this service and there is certainly no discrimination against them. All they have to do is to inform us in advance of the assistance they need.”
However, he said the airline could not cater to those with total immobility as it did not have the facilities available on full service airlines like suitable toilets, wider aisles and detachable seats.
He said if changes were to be made to cater to this group, it would mean a total reconfiguration of AirAsia planes.
Fernandes said as a budget airline, it had its limitations unlike full service carriers.
“Our position is comparable to hospitals that have various areas of specialisations like those treating heart diseases and bone problems. It is the same for AirAsia. We cannot cater to everyone… we have to be real on what we can or cannot do.”
Fernandes said AirAsia had discussed with MAHB the possibility of providing “ambulifts” to help ferry disabled passengers onboard.
But he said the plan would only be feasible if the airport operator was willing to reduce charges at the terminal.
Fernandes said another possible solution was to hire more staff to handle disabled passengers but the additional costs involved might lead to costlier fares.
Fernandes also announced that passengers aged above 65 no longer needed to pay additional fees to be given priority to board AirAsia planes.
On another matter, Chan said Malaysia Airlines had been directed to submit a full report immediately on the hundreds of passengers who were stranded and delayed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Sunday.
Category: AirAsia
Bernama – July 16, 2007: Govt Orders AirAsia, Malaysia Airports To Facilitate Disabled
Govt Orders AirAsia, Malaysia Airports To Facilitate Disabled
SEPANG, July 16 (Bernama) — Upset with the difficulties faced by the disabled at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) here, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy today ordered Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and AirAsia Bhd to sort out the matter.
“I am unhappy with this. I want to see solutions,” he told reporters after launching AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur-Shenzen service here.
Chan said the government felt strongly that some kind of assistance should be given for the disabled to facilitate their travel via LCCT.
“We would like to see AirAsia and Malaysia Airports sit down quickly and sort out the necessary facilitation,” he said.
AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes, who was with Chan, denied that the low cost airline turned away wheelchair bound passengers.
In fact, he said, the airline’s ground staff take the disabled to the aircraft and physically carry them onboard.
“We do not even charge for this service and there is certainly no discrimination against them,” he claimed.
But he pointed out that AirAsia cannot cater to those with total immobility as the airline does not have the right facilities for them including the right kind of toilets that a full service airline could provide, wider aisles and detachable seats.
He said the physical limitations of AirAsia aircraft make it near impossible for the airline to cater to those who are totally immobile.
“As a low cost carrier we cannot do that as this will require us to change the whole plane,” he said.
Fernandes said the airline is trying to work out a solution with Malaysia Airports to provide an `ambulift’ that will cost RM1 million.
“But at the moment, we are still arguing with them about charges on use of this terminal compared to the facilities that the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has,” he said.
Unless Malaysia Airports reduces its charges on AirAsia, Fernandes said the lesser-equipped LCCT will not have an ambulift of its own and AirAsia staff will continue carrying these passengers.
“MAS charges totally immobile passengers three seats and have wide-bodied aircraft that can move them easily. We don’t (do that),” he said.
Asked if the only option for this group is full service airlines, he said: “We cannot cater to everyone, but we try to”.
“It breaks my heart to read ‘Now Everyone Can Fly, but not everyone’. But we also have to be real on what we can or can’t do,” he said.
Fernandes said the airline tries to find solutions and has even spoken to Airbus and the engineers to see if it can further facilitate travel for the immobilised, “but it’s near impossible”.
“The last point they (Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group or BEAT) raised was that they don’t think this airport is very friendly for the physically handicapped. I don’t own this airport, ask Malaysia Airports,” he said.
— BERNAMA
NST – July 16, 2007: ‘Now everyone can fly’, except the disabled
2007/07/16
‘Now everyone can fly’, except the disabledEmail to friend Email to Friend Print article Print Article
SEPANG: AirAsia may use “Now Everyone Can Fly” as its tagline but not everyone can actually fly with the low-cost carrier.
The airline does not take passengers who are wheel- chair users.Wheelchair-bound Peter Tan said he couldn’t book tickets through AirAsia’s website because he could not tick the box confirming he did not require special assistance.
“I couldn’t proceed because of it and each time I contacted the call centre, I was told: ‘If you can’t walk. then we can’t take you, It is company policy’,” he said.
Tan was among the 40 members of the Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) who staged a peaceful protest at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) here yesterday to express their disappointment with AirAsia’s refusal to take passengers requiring special assistance.
Tan, who is BEAT assistant co-ordinator, said the AirAsia operator at the call centre informed him that if he could not manage the steps of the airplane himself, he had to bring someone to help him.“Even so, it will still be impossible for us as our carer can’t possibly carry us onboard,” Tan added.
BEAT co-ordinator Christine Lee said there must be some mechanism AirAsia could use to lift passengers up to the aircraft, similar to those used to load luggage and food.
Lee said AirAsia should provide facilities for passengers who were immobile and those with limited mobility.
The group is calling on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to ensure all new and old airports are equipped with facilities to improve accessibility for the disabled.
An AirAsia spokesman declined to comment on the matter.