A hidden camera investigation has shed light on the embarrassing and sometimes terrifying challenges wheelchair-bound people face when they fly — just as the Canadian government is demanding Air Canada defend itself against a string of reports detailing how they allegedly mistreated disabled customers.
The long-running Canadian consumer watchdog series “Marketplace” conducted the investigation, which in part followed a woman named Alessia Di Virgilio as she tried to navigate the difficult and confusing world of aviation in a wheelchair, according to the CBC.
“I don’t feel safe,” said Di Virgilio, who was born with a mobility disability that affects his muscles and lungs, and has left him chained to a ventilator and unable to sit up on his own.
“It felt like people weren’t trained properly,” he said near the end of a round trip from Toronto to Charlottetown. “People don’t know what they’re doing.”
Di Virgilio’s problems stemmed mostly from a lack of preparedness by the airline and its staff — and led to dire complications such as his ventilator cutting off and an elevator falling on his head during the trip.
Alessia Di Virgilio allowed CBC to follow her on a plane so viewers could see the difficulties she often faced. Toronto Star via Getty Images Many of the problems appear to stem from poorly trained airline staff. CBC
The Marketplace documentary also sheds light on accessibility issues across Canada’s transit system, including using ride-sharing apps with service animals or navigating public transportation with disabilities, according to the CBC.
Such issues are common, according to Jeff Preston, associate professor of disability studies at King’s University College in Ontario.
Such problems are all too common, according to Jeff Preston, associate professor of disability studies at King’s University College in Ontario. Facebook/Jeff Preston
“Now remember that you don’t have the same rights or the same access as other Canadians, that you’re being asked to live an inferior life because of your difference, that it’s your responsibility to fit in this broken system versus the system say we need to do fundamentally better,” Preston, who himself uses a powered wheelchair, told CBC after watching their footage.
The main problem is that wheelchair users must be separated from their wheelchair during the flight so they can sit in the airplane seat, Di Virgilio told the network.
Air Canada did not comment specifically on Di Virgilio’s case. Shutterstock
Airlines are supposed to train their staff to move people in wheelchairs, but Di Virgilio doesn’t always trust the training – as evidenced by the shocking incident at Charlottetown Airport where five people moved him by hand and caused his ventilator to go off several times.
Without a tube, Di Virgilio only had a few breaths before his breathing became shallow.
Adding insult to injury, the elevator they were using then tilted upwards and hit his head.
“I’m not confident, and I don’t feel safe,” Di Virgilio said afterwards. “To say the scary word is not completely [capture] how are you feeling,” he pondered a few days after returning home. “It was a great experience. … I just shut myself off from that.”
Di Virgilio was on a ventilator, which was knocked out several times during one transfer. CBC
Air Canada would not comment on Di Virgilio’s case, but said they had contacted him to apologize.
“The vast, vast majority of customers with mobility needs travel without issue and in the relatively rare circumstances where barriers are encountered, we act quickly to address concerns,” the airline said in a statement.
Preston, the professor, said Air Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency need to get their act together when it comes to handling accessibility.
“Ultimately, when someone’s rights are violated, when someone is essentially treated as less than a person, I think we all have a responsibility to intervene,” he told the station.
“We need to do a better job of ensuring that what is on paper is actually enacted in the real world. Because that gap, in my experience, can be huge.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
