HC forms panel to address elderly, disabled flyers

Mumbai: "We are really concerned about senior citizens," said the Bombay High Court on Tuesday as it appointed a three-member special panel to examine, from every angle, issues faced by elderly and disabled airline passengers. The panel will be headed by former Andhra Pradesh High Court Judge, Justice Goda Raghuram, along with a high-ranking official from the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and consumer activist Shirish Deshpande.
Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna, who appointed the panel, highlighted issues of seminal importance concerning the ordeals of senior citizens and people with reduced or no mobility when undertaking air travel. They particularly noted the "non-availability of wheelchairs and appropriate facilities provided, either by airlines or airport operators."
The panel shall hear all stakeholders, including airlines, airport operators, passengers, and a representative of the disability commissioner. It will make recommendations based on which the DGCA is to set out workable norms for the benefit of the aggrieved.
Wheelchairs are meant to be provided by airlines, the DGCA informed the HC on Monday. The court was hearing two petitions filed by three passengers, including a mother-daughter duo who were flying in from Colombo and faced wheelchair delays. They only received one wheelchair, forcing the 80-year-old mother to let her 50-something daughter use it, as her arthritis had practically immobilised her at the Mumbai International Airport. In its order on Tuesday, the HC informed ASG Anil Singh for the DGCA that the panel would indeed "be very useful" to the central governing body, whose "proactive stand" and deep concern, as expressed in its affidavit, it has appreciated. The HC also referred to the death of an 80-year-old passenger, coming to Mumbai from New York, who did not get a wheelchair on time. The DGCA imposed a fine on the airline last year.
"After deliberations, the committee is to recommend what are the essential requirements and norms for consideration of DGCA for effective implementation by airlines and airport operators to enable smooth and comfortable travel of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and lack of mobility, etc.," the bench said, reading out from its order. The panel's role is "purely recommendatory," and ultimately the DGCA will take the final call, the HC clarified and adjourned the matter to June 30.
Senior counsel Zal Andhyarujina for Air India said the HC has "perfectly balanced all rights." The court also noted that the petitioners, represented by advocates Aseem Naphade and Sonal Kochar, Andhyarujina and Nitesh Jain for Air India, and Shoma Maitra and Farid Karachiwala for Adani Enterprise Ltd, "fairly supported the cause.