Sunday, July 21, 2013

DGCA draft guidelines aim at easing air travel for disabled passengers

Mumbai: To cut down multiple medical clearances required by disabled passengers during air travel, Director General of Civil Aviation, in its new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), has suggested that airlines issue Frequent Travellers Medical Card (FREMEC). The card will be acceptable across airlines. DGCA has invited suggestions on CAR from the public by July 31.
The draft guidelines include appointment of a nodal and an appellate authority for grievance redressal, involvement of travel agents to ascertain needs of disabled passengers at the time of booking and standardisation of training of airline, airport and security staff.
The draft, however, is silent about the procedure of security check for disabled passengers. "It also does not have clear guidelines on the prosthetic devices, rendering this a grey area," said Suranjana Ghosh, a Mumbai-based media professional. The 37-year-old said on July 11, CISF personnel at Mumbai Airport asked her to remove her prosthesis completely, a demand that she found humiliating.
21/07/13 Priyal Dave/Indian Express
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