Call Girls Service !! New Friends Colony!! @9999965857 Delhi 🫦 No Advance VV...
Air Travel by People with Disabilities by Simon Darcy
1. Disability, access and air travel:
i i ht !an ongoing nightmare!
B dBased on
Darcy, S. (2012). (dis)embodied air travel experiences: Disability, discrimination and the affect of
a discontinuous air travel chain. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 19(e8 August),
1-11.
Presentation to UNSW School of Aviation Seminar Series 16 April 2014
Professor Simon Darcy
UTS Business School
University of Technology, SydneyUniversity of Technology, Sydney
2. Abstract
Home
• This article presents an investigation of the embodied air travel experiences
Previous
• This article presents an investigation of the embodied air travel experiences
of people with disability. The study was informed by human rights
frameworks, social approaches to disability and critical tourism. The
research design included a review of newspaper articles, human rights
complaint cases open ended responses to a survey on the tourismNext
Help
complaint cases, open-ended responses to a survey on the tourism
experiences of people with disabilities and semistructured in-depth
interviews. The findings revealed that the air travel practices routinely
contravened disability discrimination legislation and identified a series of
i ll t t d t i t th i t l h i f thsocially constructed constraints across the air travel chain from the
preplanning of trips through to disembarking after a flight. What emerged
from these experiences was that the embodied individuals became
(dis)embodied at each stage of the air travel chain. The inequitable,
i ibl di ifi d d d d i l d i h i h dinaccessible, undignified and dependent practices resulted in heightened
anxiety, increased helplessness and, in some cases, humiliation to which
they were not subjected in their everyday lives.
4. And if you think I am kidding…
Home • http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/sarahs-
choice-presents-or-her-wheelchair/story-e6frfq80-
Previous
p / y q
1226607933747
• http://www news com au/travel/travel-updates/jetstar-Next
Help
• http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/jetstar-
refuses-flight-to-disabled-woman-saying-she-couldnt-
understand-instructions/story-e6frfq80-1226655448751
• http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-
opinion/passengers-with-disability-still-missing-the-plane-
20100716-10dx0 html20100716-10dx0.html
• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-16552904
5. Australian Team leaves Mascot for the International Paraplegic Games 1968 to be held in Tel Aviv
Frame order no. : Australian Photographic Agency – 30000
State Library of NSW
Home
Previous
Next
Help
6. The Hanibal Lecter Experience
Home
• To my amazement, two men in
overalls wheeled towards me a
sinister contraption resembling
Previous
sinister contraption resembling
the ominous chair into which
Hannibal Lecter was strapped in
Silence of the Lambs. Four belts
were fastened tightly around me,
connecting me to slide rails byNext
Help
connecting me to slide rails, by
which means I was to be conveyed
upwards. Halfway up, the bottom
man dropped me, letting go of the
rope. The top man screamed.
F l h h d
p p
Fortunately, they caught me mid
air. I was unhurt but terrified.
They kept screaming at each
other, their ears covered with
soundproof muffs immune tosoundproof muffs, immune to
abuse or entreaty. I knew it would
seem funny later
• (Goossens 2001).
7. Definitions
Home • Disability – socially constructed outcome of the
environmental barriers and social attitudes that people with
Previous
p p
impairments are subject (Swain et at., 1990)
• Discrimination – not being treated equally before the law
(Disability Discrimination Acts 1992)
Next
Help
( y )
• ‘embodiment’ is used to describe the way in which the ‘bodily
bases of individuals’ actions and interactions are socially
structured; that is, embodiment is a social as well as natural; ,
process’ (Osborne 2000, p. 51).
• ‘travel chain’ ‘refers to all elements that make up a journey,
from starting point to destination — including the pedestriang p g p
access, the vehicles, and the transfer points. If any link is
inaccessible, the entire trip becomes difficult’ (World Health
Organization & World Bank, 2011, p. 179)
8. Overview of the Air Travel Chain
Home
• Travel planning, travel agents and surfing the
t l tPrevious
travel net
• Booking in & Customer Service
Next
Help
• Boarding and disembarking
• Seat allocation• Seat allocation
• Personal care issues and onboard toilets
E i t h dli /d• Equipment handling/damage
• Customer Service
• Institutional constraints
• Conclusion• Conclusion
12. Boarding and Disembarking
Home
• You get stuck in those bloody, shitty airport
h l h i d ’t h It i htPrevious
wheelchairs and you can’t go anywhere. It might
be for half-an-hour, and if you’re stuck without
access to your own chair in one of those aisleNext
Help
access to your own chair, in one of those aisle
chairs that you can’t actually push around and go
to the bathroom or get yourself a feed…it’s a lossg y
of independence…I’m self-catheterised, so if you
don’t get to the bathroom, you piss your pants; It’s
t th b t t b (J ti P 357 361)not the best way to be (Justin Pg 357-361).
14. Boarding and Disembarking
Home
• You get the odd one who is quite rough,
Previous and they pick you up like a sack of
potatoes. They do not really have any idea
Next
Help
of safe lifting and positioning, they just
dump you and walk off. I have had that
happen before, that was terrible…As soon
as you get out of your motorised chair, you
often feel very vulnerable. You can’t move
anywhere (Jenny and John Pg 553-559).
15. Eagle Lifter 2
Home
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTPItEf
Previous xSeE
Next
Help
18. Seat allocation
Home • They sometimes allocate you to the most
appropriate seat not too far down the aisle and
Previous
appropriate seat…not too far down the aisle and
one with an armrest that lifts up. But not all the
planes have got armrests that lift up. My very first
Next
Help
flight they put me right down the very back. I had
to squeeze all the way down the aisle to the back
seat Because I can’t transfer myself I have to beseat. Because I can t transfer myself, I have to be
lifted over the armrest by the carer and the porters
at the airport …one gets on the legs, and the other
th b k d t f (Ti P 662on the back and transfers me across (Tim Pg 662-
686).
22. Personal care issues and onboard toilets
Home • …when I am taken on
board, I am placed in the
• I don’t think that I could
get into a toilet in a
Previous
board, I am placed in the
middle aisle again... with
no leg row…with a leg that
couldn’t bend, I had
get into a toilet in a
plane…I have got a normal
bladder function but I tend
to hold on for a very longNext
Help
,
nowhere to put my leg. I
said to the steward, I
cannot sit here for twelve
y g
time. Which is very useful,
but I guess for a lot of
people it’s very difficult to
hours…so my legs were out
in the aisle, with a twisted
back. I couldn’t even put a
p p y
fly. If it’s an overnight
flight, I do not know that I
am able to get through
seat belt on (Annabel Pg
87).
(Jenny and John Pg 637).
24. Equipment handling/damage
Home • It is one o’clock in the morning when we landed in
Hawaii and the Porter is extremely happy when he
Previous
Hawaii and the Porter is extremely happy when he
brings out my wheelchair, except it’s not my
wheelchair… I feel sick to the stomach and he goes
Next
Help
off again and brings out another wheelchair and
again it’s not my wheelchair! What am I going to
do? Wheelchairs are like shoes you just can’t putdo? Wheelchairs are like shoes, you just can t put
any pair on. Then he brings out another wheelchair
and it is my wheelchair and I feel like a won the
l tt ! (J P 32)lotto! (James Pg 32).
26. Equipment Dilemmas
Home • Travelling with a portable ventilator creates a great deal of
uncertainty and risk in regards to airline luggage handling
Previous
y g gg g g
procedures. My specialists have specifically advised me not to
allow my ventilator to go through cargo because of the risk of
it getting lost or damaged.Airlines however have refused to
allow me to bring it on board as cabin luggage due to itsNext
Help
allow me to bring it on board as cabin luggage due to its
dimensions exceeding their policy. I therefore have had to
take the risk of sending it through cargo but I fear that one
day I will arrive at my destination and my ventilator will not.y y y
Without it I would require hospitalisation until it is replaced or
recovered. Furthermore, airlines disclaim liability for the cost
of replacing a lost item as expensive as a $20,000 portable
ventilator and given my medical condition I am unable toventilator, and given my medical condition, I am unable to
obtain travel insurance to cover it either. So whenever I fly,
I'm taking an enormous risk with my equipment. I think I
would fly more often if I did not have concern. My ventilator
h h / l h ll 'must stay within my sight/control whenever travelling. It's
too important to risk. Would you entrust one of your lungs to
airport logistsics? Billy
29. Customer Service
Home • I found the airline was really
quite rude, in that June and I
t t t th l d
• I have to say that I could find
no fault at all with the
t t t d th f iliti
Previous
went to get on the plane and
he yelled down the corridor,
‘I’ve got a couple of carry ons
here’…That whole bad attitude
t th t ’ i ht t
treatment and the facilities
provided by Qantas from the
moment I checked in at the
airport in Sydney. In the past,
I h d b d lNext
Help
to the customers’ rights……not
realising that people with
disabilities know what they’re
talking about and deserve
I had gone on board planes
where my brother had actually
had to lift me on board
international flights becauseg
respect (Don Pg 308).
g
the crew wouldn’t do it. So, it
was such an amazement to me
that seven years later the crew
couldn’t do enough for youg y
and provided me with
anything that I needed
(Annabel Paragraphs 45-51).
31. Airline to wheelchair users: pay a carer
Home
Previous
Next
Help
www.smh.com.au/.../2006/05/29/1148754939583.html
32. Home
Stages Quotes
A P t l l i 1 'It' f f ti th t t ll t f bl h ' t i b k ith f i d k
Previous
A. Pre-travel planning 1. 'It's a form of segregation that creates all sorts of problems when you're trying book with your friends or work
colleagues. You secure the fares but then they (the airlines) can bump you for any number of reasons' (Interviewee)
A. Boarding and
disembarking
1. You get stuck in those bloody, shitty airport wheelchairs and you can’t go anywhere. It might be there for half-an-
hour, and if you’re stuck without access to your own chair, in one of those aisle chairs that you can’t actually push
around and go to the bathroom or get yourself a feed…it’s a loss of independence…I’m self-catheterised, so if you
don’t get to the bathroom you piss your pants It’s not the best way to be (Interviewee)
Next
Help
don t get to the bathroom, you piss your pants. It s not the best way to be (Interviewee).
2. ‘As he said to me, he is just one of the baggage staff that they asked to help out because they were short of staff. It
showed, as I thought he was going to throw me into the other seat. He was strong but it’s not about strength, it’s
about technique’ (Interviewee).
A. Seat allocation 1. ‘My very first flight they put me right down the very back. I had to squeeze all the way down the aisle to the back
seat. Because I can’t transfer myself, I have to be lifted over the armrest by the carer and the porters at the airporty , y p p
…one gets on the legs, and the other on the back and transfers me across’ (Interviewee).
A. Onboard personal care
issues
1. ‘On previous overseas trips I have found getting to the toilet extremely difficult because of the tiny size of plane
toilets. It’s put me right off travelling by plane’ (Interviewee).
2. ‘I don’t think that I could get into a toilet in a plane…I have got a normal bladder function but I tend to hold on for
a very long time’
A. Equipment handling 1. Then, once you’re off, you get taken down to the baggage area in the case of somebody with a power chair and
wait for your chair to come out. You get back in the chair and hope everything is working and if it is not working,
then you’ve got to make an insurance claim and you work out how you can get about for the next few days. It is
quite a traumatic experience for many people’ (Interviewee).
A. Customer service 1. ‘I found the airline was really quite rude, in that (wife's name withheld) and I went to get on the plane and he yelled
down the corridor, ‘I’ve got a couple of carry-ons here’…That whole bad attitude to the customers’ rights’
(I t i )(Interviewee)
33. Institutional Constraints
Home
• Booking procedures
• Independent travel criteria
Previous
p
• Emergency evacuation
• Occupational health and safetyNext
Help
p y
• Restrictions of assistance for people with disabilities
• Restrictions on number of people with disabilities on aRestrictions on number of people with disabilities on a
single flight
• Restriction on the number of power wheelchairs that
b t d th b di d j tcan be stowed on the narrow bodied jets
• Other equipment issues – oxygen & assistance animals
C t lib li d i di id li i f• Costs – liberalism and individualising of user pays
34. Home Phase of the Travel
Chain
Practice Essence of Experience
From Embodiment to (DIS)embodiment
A Pre Travel 1 Segregated booking procedure 1 Inequity;
Previous
A. Pre Travel
Planning
1. Segregated booking procedure
2. Inaccessible information formats
3. Independent travel criteria enforced in ad hoc fashion
4. Restriction of equipment/assistance animals per aircraft
1. Inequity;
2. Dependency
3. Loss of independence; extra cost
4. Separation from support; extra cost; extra time
A. Boarding and
disembarking
1. Separated from equipment
2. Lack of privacy
1. Loss of dignity
2. Loss of dignity and confidence
Next
Help
3. Process of transfer
4. Service attitude
5. First on – last off: Length of process
3. Loss of dignity
4. Dehumanising; devalued
5. Inequity; Fatigue
A. Seat allocation 1. Position of seats
2. Seats with arms that do not raise
3 Safety procedures
1. Loss of dignity
2. Worry due to possible injury
3 Raised anxiety3. Safety procedures 3. Raised anxiety
A. Personal care
issues
1. No or restricted access to onboard toilets
2. No onboard chair
1. Health implications; dignity;
2. dependence
A. Equipment
handling
1. Inconsistent approaches to equipment procedures
2. Damage
3. Loss of equipment
1. Trepidation with expectation
2. Helplessness
3. Devastation
A. Customer service 1. Inappropriate language
2. Poorly trained
3. Lack of staff rostered on
4. Reduced level of service
1. Devalued
2. Fear; injury
3. Anxiety; health implications
4. Anxiety; health implications
35. Phenomenological outcome
Home
• Independence to dependence
Previous
• Dignity to indignity
E it t ti ( th id)Next
Help
• Equity to segregation (apartheid)
• An experience that disempowers the
individual through creating conditions forindividual through creating conditions for
(dis)embodiment
36. Embodiment: the constituent parts
Home Impairment/Body
•Dimension of disability
di ll bl ( ill )
Enabling Environment
•Continuous pathway (ramps, lifts, gradients)
i
Previous
•Medically stable (not ill!)
•Comfortable in their own skin
•Movement
•Senses
•Temperature control
•Support needs
•Signage
•Unisex access toilets
•Communication technology
•Universal design
Next
Help
•Support needs
Embodied Individual
Service Attitude Assistive Aids & Technology
•Well-trained staff
•Appropriate language
•Empathy of circumstance
•Procedures and practices
•Wheelchair
•Hoist
•Computer
•Personal Digital Assistants
•Automation technology
37. Darcy trip - the “travel chain” and the
Home
“experience” wanted
Travel chain The experience
Previous
Travel chain
• Terrey Hills, Sydney
• Wheelchair Accessible Taxis
• Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney
The experience
Next
Help
• Physical transfer from power wheelchair to aisle chair to aircraft seat
• Virgin Australia
• Physical transfer from aircraft seat to aisle chair to power
wheelchair
• Townsville wheelchair accessible taxio s e ee c a access b e ta
• Grand Hotel
• Use power wheelchair to enjoy accessible streetscape
• Grand Hotel - Townsville wheelchair accessible taxi - Sealink Ferry
Terminal
• Sealink catamaran to Magnetic Island ferry• Sealink catamaran to Magnetic Island ferry
• Accessible wharf and ramp system
• Floating pontoon at Peppers resort
• Cliff ‘s Fishing Tours using a wheelchair accessible roll on fishing boat
• The Experience fishing, circumnavigation of Magnetic island and
local history/tour knowledge
• Floating pontoon at Peppers resort
• Accessible wharf and ramp system
• Sealink catamaran to Magnetic Island Ferry
• Accessible wharf and ramp systemAccessible wharf and ramp system
• Use power wheelchair to enjoy accessible streetscape back to the
Grand Hotel
38. The European solution: airport pit crews
Home • EU REGULATION (EC) No
1107/2006 2007
Previous
• All airports with over
100,000 pasengers per year.
• As Ivor Ambrose ENAT states
“G d ll th i l t tiNext
Help
“Gradually the implementation
of this Regulation is working
and improving... although the
way it is carried out variesy
from country to country, as
you might expect, according to
training practices etc. But the
good thing is that all airlinesg g
are covered by it - for all
incoming and outgoing flights
in the European Union”.
39. Conclusion - A disembodied experience
Home
• Socially constructed constraints
Previous • Impact of low-cost airlines on cost structure
and staffing
Next
Help
• Bureaucratisation of disability assistance
• Political correctness occupational health• Political correctness, occupational health
and safety, and other discourses
L k f i i f h i d• Lack of recognition of the associated costs
of travelling with an attendant