Skift Take
The pandemic has magnified the voices of accessibility organizations and the disparities for travelers with disabilities. Accessibility to travel and undamaged personal mobility aids are big concerns for these travelers who account for billions of dollars in revenue. Finally, the industry is trying to do the right thing, or so it seems.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is launching a worldwide action group focusing on improving and examining the safe and secure transport of mobility aids essential to accompanying travelers with disabilities.
Having previously participated in similar working groups with the Canadian
Transportation Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation on the safe loading and security of mobility aids in the cargo, IATA is working on improving travel accessibility for the aging population and travelers with disabilities, said Linda Ristagno, IATA's manager of external affairs.
Providing access to everyone is a goal for trade group defining itself as being the business of freedom and stresses the importance of providing freedom and equal rights to everyone. Ristagno said it's also estimated to be a return on investment for airlines and aviation based on the spending power of passengers with disabilities.
American adults with disabilities spent $11 billion solely on air travel, a 2020 market study by Open Doors said.
“Every year, thousands of wheelchairs are transported safely by air. However, damage or loss is still occurring. And when it does, it is devastating to the passenger as these devices are more than equipment—they are extensions of their body and essential to their independence," said Willie Walsh, IATA's director-general.
Airlines spend millions in compensating damaged wheelchairs and scooters. Twelve hundred wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled in the U.S. in May, versus 120 damaged during the same period in 2020, the July U.S. Department of Transportation report said.
Currently, there are more than a billion people around the world or the equivalent of 15 percent of the global population living with some for
