Access to transport being a fundamental pre-requisite of job and social
inclusion, it is one of the four thematic areas EBU undertook to look into under
the Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS). This is
a particularly vast area and considering access to all modes of transport may
well have proved a superficial exercise with each mode being succinctly touched
upon. We felt it more effective to focus on a particular mode of transport, and
air travel came naturally to mind in view of the adoption in July 2006 of the
Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council
concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility (PRMs)
when travelling by air.
1.1. This Regulation shall apply in 2008, two years following the day of
its publication. Articles 3 and 4 on non-discrimination already entered into
force in July 2007.
Contrary to a directive, a regulation is directly applicable in the national
legislation of all the Member States of the European Union.
The purpose of the Regulation is clearly set out in its Article 1 : it is to
protect disabled persons and PRMs travelling by air against discrimination and
to ensure that they receive the assistance they need.
Its rules shall apply to commercial air passenger flights on departure from,
transit through or arrival at an airport situated in the EU.
The full text of the Regulation is available at :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_204/l_20420060726en00010009.pdf
text format : www.euroblind.org/fichiersGB/OJ5-final.htm
1.2. One year had passed since the Regulation was formally adopted and
this was a good point in time to look at the implementation process and take
stock of progress made.
In compliance with EBU's action programme under PROGRESS, a workshop was
convened and successfully held in Bolsano, Italy, on 7 July 2007. Because the
funds made available for this activity were limited, we were only able to invite
7 participants and we thought such small an attendance was particularly
favourable to an open dialogue between representatives of organisations of blind
and partially sighted people and representatives of air operators. As shown in
the following list of participants, all major actors in the facilitation of air
passengers with disabilities were represented (airlines, airports and the
ground-handling sector).
Jim Forster : Manager Facilitation, British Airways.
W.A. Godefroy : International Help Disabled Airport Services (private company
providing assistance to PRMs).
Jean-Luc Proveniers : Passenger Process and Service Manager, Brussels Airport.
Jose van Rosmalen : Policy Officer on Mobility and Accessibility, VIZIRIS, The
Netherlands
Erik Staaf : International Department, Swedish Association of the Visually
Impaired.
Mokrane Boussaid : Director, European Blind Union.
The Bolsano airport authorities had also been invited as it would have been
useful to gain information on the extent to which the Regulation is being
implemented by smaller airports, but they could unfortunately not join the
meeting.
This report will follow the agenda that was put together for the meeting (Annex
1), based on aspects of the Regulation's implementation that are of special
relevance to blind and partially sighted air passengers.
To ensure maximum seamlessness, the Regulation provides that assistance to
disabled passengers shall be provided centrally under the responsibility of
airports. Provisions to ensure seamless travel are to be found mainly in
Articles 5 and 7 of the Regulation.
2.1. Article 5 is of particular relevance to blind and partially sighted
people. Those travelling on their own will have found that, in most EU airports,
assistance is provided from the point of check-in. This means that the visually
impaired passenger has to walk at times long distances from the point of
set-down (train station, taxi rank, bus stop) to the check-in point before
he/she can be given the assistance needed. With this Regulation, the disabled
passenger will no longer have to go and fetch the assistance he/she needs.
Rather, assistance will start from his/her point of arrival at a given airport.
In substance, Article 5 provides that, taking account of local conditions,
airports shall designate points of arrival at which disabled persons can, with
ease, announce their arrival at the airport and request assistance. It also
provides that this will be done in cooperation with, i.a, "relevant
organisations representing disabled persons".
Recital 5 provides guidance as to where these designated points should be
located : "...These points should be designated at least at the main entrances
to terminal buildings, in areas with check-in counters, in train, light rail,
metro and bus stations, at taxi ranks and other drop-off points, and in airport
car parks... "
2.2. Major airports are taking action to comply with the new requirements
under Article 5, and some have already launched calls for tender to select
ground handling companies to provide assistance to air passengers with
disabilities. Considering that airports are now under the obligation to set
themselves quality standards in consultation with organisations of people with
disabilities and that these should logically be ready before tenders are
launched, it is worrying that only in few cases has the disability movement been
properly consulted whilst tenders have already been called. The danger here is
that there seems to be no watch dogs to prevent that the containment of costs
governs the whole exercise at the expense of quality service.
2.3. There seems to be good cooperation between airports through ACI-Europe
(Airports Council International) regarding the technical implementation of the
designated points. The general tendency is to equip drop-off points with call
beacons which will enable a disabled pasenger to signal his/her arrival by
simply pressing the call button. The basic idea is good but needs to be looked
at more carefully for each of the modes of transport serving a given airport and
according to local circumstances.
In particular, one question to be looked at is how a blind passenger can locate
the call beacon once he/she gets off the train or bus. Roissy-Charles de Gaulle
airport in Paris is considering using tactile surfaces leading from the bus
stops to the beacon.
The Brussels airport is following an interesting approach based on
interoperability. This means that as soon as a passenger with a visual
impairment is on board a train to the airport, his/her arrival is notified by
the driver to the assistance provider.
Regarding taxis, an option being implemented by Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and
Orly airports in Paris is to install call beacons at a dedicated gate for each
of the airport terminals. This of course can only work if passengers and taxi
drivers are informed that the facility is there.
Although the disability movement would have liked the Regulation to go
further in clearly identifying what safety rules are genuine, it is comforting
to note that Article 4 provides that carriage can only be refused to meet safety
requirements established by international, Community or national law or by the
authority that issued the air operator's flying certificate. This clearly
excludes the possibility for airlines to put forward their own safety standards
to justify the denial of reservation or boarding.
Paragraph 2 of Article 4 : "... an air carrier or its agent or a tour operator
may require that a disabled person or person with reduced mobility be
accompanied by another person who is capable of providing the assistance
required by that person" has aroused concerns that this should apply to
passengers who are blind or partially sighted.
In fact, this provision should be put in context and considered against the rest
of the Regulation. It is intended to allay the concerns of airlines when having
to handle disabled passengers who are heavily dependent and who require intense
or specialized assistance.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has conducted a survey which, in
spite of its limited scope, provides a good overview of the current state of
play. The table set out at the end of this report shows that none of the 12
respondent airlines require that a passenger with a visual impairment travels
with an accompanying person.
Of course there is always a risk that the odd airline, most likely low-cost, may
try and deliberately use Paragraph 2 to prevent a blind person from travelling
without an accompanying person. It will then be the role and duty of disability
organisations to bring the case before the bodies to be set up under this
Regulation to receive complaints or before the courts of justice. This
Regulation as any piece of legislation is likely to give rise to diverging
interpretations, and what is important is to make sure that jurisprudence rules
in our favour.
Airlines will be under the obligation to carry recognised assistance dogs in
the cabin. This provision is not fully satisfactory in that carriage of guide
dogs is subject to national regulation.
What is more, the concept of "recognised assistance dogs" falls far short of
being universal and is a major source of confusion and of discriminatory
practices. The criteria for a guide dog to gain recognition and especially the
certification mechanisms seem to vary from one country to the other. For
example, the German guide dog system knows no official national recognition
procedure, and only two out of the many guide dog training centres in Germany
are affiliated to the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF). This makes it
de facto impossible for German guide dog users to travel with airlines requiring
that guide dogs be certified and accredited to "recognised guide dog
associations" (see AEA's survey at the end of this report).
A good dose of tidying up is needed here and it is hoped that the formation of
the European Guide Dog Federation will decisively contribute to the adoption of
common European definitions and standards.
In the meantime, and since carriage of guide dogs in the cabin is subject to
national regulation, it is essential that national organisations of blind and
partially sighted people continue fighting at national level to improve guide
dog access laws in their respective countries.
There are two areas where strong and immediate action is needed to make sure
the Regulation is implemented to the best of blind and partially sighted
people's interests : designated points and information.
5.1. It is essential that organisations of the visually impaired monitor
closely the implementation of Article 5 of the Regulation and validate the
solutions put in place. In particular, they should make sure that as many points
as possible are designated within the airport boundaries so as to cover all
modes of transport linking to that airport. They should take the initiative and
approach managing bodies of airports, including the regional and local ones, to
offer their expertise.
5.2. Information is an area where action is crucially needed. It is key
to the success of whatever system is put in place. A call beacon or any other
facility will only be useful if the disabled passenger knows it is available and
where. Information campaigns must involve all stake-holders – civil aviation
authorities, airlines, airports, organisations of people with disabilities. All
possible media must be used so as to reach as many users as possible :
information leaflets and other publications in accessible formats ; information
attached in some way or the other to air tickets ; dedicated accessible
websites.
There is also a need to target information at the operators of the various modes
of transport serving airports, and to explore further the "interoperability
model".
Disability organisations are encouraged to draw from the toolkit put together by
the European Disability Forum (Annex 2).
By Mokrane BOUSSAID
Director, European Blind Union
| Airline | Attendant Required for Blind Person | Guide Dog in Cabin - Free of Charge | Conditions for Guide Dog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air France | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply – Dog must be properly documented. Certificate required. |
| Finnair | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply – Dog must be properly documented. |
| Alitalia | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. Muzzle required. |
| British Airways | Not required provided self reliant. | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. Dog must be trained and accredited to recognised guide dog association. Harness required. Normally two dogs per flight. |
| British Midland | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. One dog per flight. |
| Iberia | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. |
| KLM | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. |
| Lufthansa | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. Muzzle required. |
| Czech Airlines | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply – Dog must be properly documented. Training certificate required. |
| Brussels Airlines | Not required- | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. Muzzle and harness required. |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Not required | Yes | Country regulations/restrictions apply – Dog must be properly documented. Two dogs per flight. |
| Virgin Atlantic | Not required provided self reliant. | Yes/No | Country regulations/restrictions apply - Dog must be properly documented. Dog must be trained and accredited to recognised guide dog association. Harness and mat required. Normally two dogs per flight. Payment (75% discount) required if extra seat space required for dog over 6kgs. |