The Justice and Equity Centre made a submission to the federal Department of Transport’s consultation on the proposed aviation disability standards. We welcome the creation of these standards and the Department’s process to develop these standards through co-design.
We strongly support the introduction of enforceable accessibility standards for airlines and airports. The JEC has worked in this area for year. We have seen many opportunities for airlines and airports to address problems proactively, but their refusals and/or failures demonstrate the need for enforceable regulation.
However, some of the proposed standards do not go far enough and those proposals need to be strengthened to ensure people with disability have equal access to air travel. For example, we recommend stronger requirements in the following areas:
- mandatory training: training should beco-designed and delivered by disability-led organisations, and made consistent through a national training module;
- number of passengers requiring assistance: limits on the number of passengers requiring assistance should be prohibited, except where necessary for genuine safety reasons;
- travelling with assistance animals: all assistance animals recognised under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 should be allowed to travel and there should be a standard application form and approval process across airlines;
- carers or companions: requirements for when a passenger with disability needs to travel with a carer or companion should be consistent across airlines;
- seating: seats that are required to accommodate a passenger’s disability should be provided without additional fees;
- passengers with mobility devices: passengers should be able to remain in their mobility device up to a set time before boarding and transfers should occur as close as possible to the aircraft door (unless the passenger requests otherwise), and the same for the return of mobility aids on arrival;
- accessible aircraft toilets, accessible passenger controls and moveable armrests: these changes should be introduced within set timeframes; and
- complaints: airlines and airports should have a designated person for resolving disability-related issues on the spot.
