Civil aviation body re-issues old document on handling passengers with limited mobility after a wheelchair-bound senior citizen was trapped in a coach on fire
Civil aviation body re-issues old document on handling passengers with limited mobility after a wheelchair-bound senior citizen was trapped in a coach on fire
It took a wheelchair-bound senior citizen trapped in a smoke-filled airport coach to draw the attention of the
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higher-ups in Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) office in New Delhi to the disregard shown to air passengers with limited mobility in India.
An airport coach carrying a wheelchair-bound senior citizen caught fire at the Mumbai airport on Saturday, leaving her trapped inside the smoke- filled coach for nearly 10 minutes.
In a knee-jerk reaction, the DGCA re-issued a Civil Aviation Requirement document dated May 1, 2008, on Carriage By Air of persons with disability and/or persons with reduced mobility. All stakeholders in the aviation industry, including those who are regulated by the DGCA, have been asked to respond with remedial feedback on the subject by March 7.
Naseem Zaidi, director general, DGCA, expressed concern over Saturday's incident saying, "All aspects of the case will be looked into fully before a report is prepared. All improvement needed has to be brought about."
According to officials, major questions that the DGCA could raise include, whether the driver of the airport coach has been trained in operating a fire extinguisher, since his attempts to douse the fire did not yield any results. Also, whether an attendant was accompanying the trapped passenger. The lady, a passenger of the Hyderabad-Mumbai Kingfisher Red flight, was in an airport coach operated by Nova Aviation for Kingfisher.u00a0
"The nine-odd minutes taken to rescue the passenger from suffocating smoke drew attention to the efficiency and ability of the ground handling staff," Saxena said.
Quoting from the re-issued CAR, Saxena noted,u00a0 "All airlines and airport managements shall run a programme in assisting passengers with disabilities. The training programme shall be conducted at the time of initial training and a refresher shall be conducted every three years, and only persons thus trained will assist disabled persons in all possible ways, including filling up of travel documents, while providing assistance in flight."
Lessons from Saturday's fire
> Better ground u00a0handling including sensitisation of airport staff to the needs of persons of limited mobility is the need of the hour
> More intense scrutiny of procedures for the yearly renewal of passenger vehicles like checking roadworthiness, proper insulation of wiring, lubrication of all rotating parts, engine oil temperature, safe radiator heating, condition of tyres and brakes, number and quality of fire extinguishers
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