One of Australia’s largest providers of services for people with disability, Life Without Barriers, says Australian Airlines are consistently failing people with disability and is calling for the National Aviation Industry to listen to the disability community and act as a matter of urgency.
Life Without Barriers, a national registered charity with around 13,000 employees and carers, is calling on Australian Airlines and the Government to implement better air travel standards that uphold the human rights of people with disabilities.
In a recent event, Ms Emma Bennison, the organisation’s Chief Innovation Officer, who is blind, was abandoned in an airport for over an hour and a half while waiting for assistance from a Jetstar staff member.
Emma Bennison, Chief Innovation Officer, said this is one of many instances where Australian airlines have failed to meet their support obligations for people with disabilities.
“To be left alone, with no way to contact staff for nearly 90mins shows the blatant disregard airlines have for me as a person with a disability. It was stressful and humiliating,” Mrs Bennison said.
“I ultimately had to contact a travel agent to be rescued. Had it not been for their intervention, I might still be there.
Ms Bennison said she expects airlines will meet their obligations to uphold her human rights and that when they don’t, it’s up to the person with a disability to hold airlines to account.
“I have had to spend time lodging a complaint that was ignored. Jetstar failed to provide a meaningful response to my complaint, and in their acknowledgement, the airline couldn’t even manage the basic respect to get my name right. Jetstar still has not responded to my very reasonable requests for the complaint to be resolved.
“I have now complained of disability discrimination with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
“This isn’t just a problem with Jetstar; poor treatment for people with disability when travelling by air is across the board. There is a severe lack of regulation in Australia’s Aviation Industry around accessibility so that people with disability can travel with dignity, safety and freedom.
Chief Operating Officer Mark Leigh said that as an organisation that works in every state across the country, we must be able to ensure safe and dignified travel for our employees. This is not just an issue for people with disabilities; it’s also a workplace safety concern.
“Every employee has the right to safety when they travel, people with disability who may require support should not be treated as second-class citizens by any Australian airline,” Mr Leigh said.
“I am deeply concerned that a significant national airline left a staff member without any assistance despite the booking being made to identify our staff’s required disability assistance. We expect a response and assurance that the airline is immediately taking action to prevent this from happening again.
“We are extremely disappointed that Australia’s Aviation Industry has failed to provide timely and appropriate assistance to one of our senior leaders. There is no excuse for leaving someone waiting in an airport with no update, explanation or guidance.”
Life Without Barriers is calling on the airlines to listen to people with disability and act. Life Without Barriers supports Emma’s request for an apology from Jetstar and a refresh of the airline’s “Special Assistance” Policy, including establishing a dedicated telephone number for customers with disability and compensation for loss of productivity. The organisation would also like to see the Federal Government take action to see more regulation around accessibility across the nation’s airlines.
