Budget airline knocks back blind man Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As a seasoned traveler, being informed his prepaid ticket would not get him on board an Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur because he was blind and traveling alone did not fly with M. Achyar.
Achyar, who works for a non-governmental organization in Jakarta, the Mitra Netra Foundation for the blind, was invited to a preparatory meeting for an international conference on access to technology for the visually impaired in Kuala Lumpur.
Having previously arranged for a friend to pick him up at the airport Wednesday, when he was scheduled to arrive, Achyar demanded Air Asia’s ground crew allow him to board the 3 p.m. flight to Kuala Lumpur.
But it was no use as the crew insisted there were no exceptions to the airline’s rule on disabled people traveling alone.
“They refused to let Achyar take the flight because they have an internal regulation that prevents a blind man from traveling unaccompanied. It is clearly a discrimination against blind people,” Mitra Netra spokeswoman Aria Indrawati told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday evening.
A 1997 law on people with disabilities gives them full rights and opportunities in all aspects of life, while the International Convention on Civil Aviation states that people with disabilities, including those who are blind, should be given special assistance at no extra charge.
Feeling discriminated against, Achyar called his office and asked for help. Despite lengthy arguments, however, the air crew stuck to their guns. Finally, the plane took off without him.
“We persisted in arguing our case – despite knowing that it was already too late – and when they continued to refuse we threatened to sue them for Rp 9 billion (about US$966,000) for discrimination against people with disabilities,” Aria said.
Under pressure, the ground crew finally consulted with a senior manager who decided Achyar could take the 6 p.m. flight.
Separately, Air Asia’s publicity and promotion executive Jovita Sadikin confirmed the incident, saying it was a misunderstanding as her company never intended to discriminate against people with disabilities.
“We do have an internal regulation on disabled people flying alone – they must be accompanied by someone over the age of 12. However, we are flexible and look into each problem case by case. Probably, our ground staff stuck too rigidly to the regulation,” she told the Post.
Jovita said that Air Asia gave priority to people with disabilities, allowing them to board first, as printed on their tickets.
However, she also said that unlike Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines, which offered a full range of passenger services, Air Asia was unable to do so.
“We are really sorry for Achyar. You see, we are trying to provide cheap flights by removing any unnecessary services and costs. So, we have limited staff to assist disabled people. As we are expanding, we will change our policy and provide more services and staff,” Jovita said. Indonesian Blind People’s Association chairman Didi Tarsidi said the association would file a lawsuit against Air Asia for discrimination against one of its members