Air Travel

I just got an e-mail from a traveler who was denied boarding on a WestJet flight. The circumstances were a bit unclear to me, but her fitness to fly was called into question when she had trouble boarding (she stumbled and I think fell) and then spent some time in the lavatory. Somehow they got hold of her medication list, and she believes something on that sent up a red flag. Again, I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but apparently some of the meds she takes for pain relief are also anti-psychotics. 

Well, it was bound to happen. In the aftermath of the underwear bomber incident,
Canadian airlines are now limiting carry-on items on all US-bound flights. So
what does that mean to disabled travelers?

It appears that flying easyJet isn't exactly that easy, especially if you're a wheelchair-user. This same UK airline that stranded a wheeler in Lourdes earlier this year, once again earned the ire of disability advocates for denying a Paralympian passage last week.

In an effort to investigate four separate complaints from people with severe allergies, The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) may very well expand the legal definition of "disability". The issue on the table will be if allowing pets to ride in airline passenger compartments represents an undue obstacle for people who have severe pet allergies. And if medical evidence proves it does, then the CTA may classify "severe allergies" as a disability.

It should be noted that access regulations vary around the world. For example, under the Air Carrier Access Act, US airlines are required to let folks stay in their own wheelchairs all the way to the aircraft door. But that's not the way it works in Australia. And Kurt Fearnley found that out the hard way.

Just when I thought I'd heard everything in regards to airline policies, my travel agent friend Ann sent me a note about Air Nippon's new policy. To keep it succinct, we'll just call it "pee before you fly"; because that's what they want you to do.

Seventeen-year old Sally O'Neil is in a sense fighting City Hall. Well, technically she's fighting the Department of Transportation (DOT) and apparently the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but I feel the results will be the same.

The issue?  Well, basically she wants to fly in her own wheelchair. She's not alone. I get a good amount of e-mail from other folks who want to do the same thing. 

Good news from down under. Virgin Blue recently amended their policy regarding wheelchair-users traveling solo. The result?  Now more wheelchair-users are free to fly Virgin Blue without having to shell out the extra bucks for an attendant to accompany them on their journey.