As the busy holiday air travel season begins, Paralyzed Veterans of America is alerting the public to the challenges people with disabilities commonly face during air travel and asking for support of their efforts to ensure accessible air travel for all.
The organization calls on Congress to pass legislation requiring accessible design standards that would include a path of travel for people with disabilities onto airplanes and improve enforcement of passenger rights for travelers under the Air Carrier Access Act with a private right of action. Furthermore, it urges airlines to increase training of their personnel and contractors to assist passengers with disabilities during the boarding and deplaning processes, it notes in a media release.
“The way things are now, flying with a disability is a danger,” says Charles Brown, national senior vice president of Paralyzed Veterans of America, in the release. “Earlier this year, I was injured when being transferred from a wheelchair to an aisle chair to board a plane for a cross-country flight. And again, when transferring to my seat. I ended up with a fracture that led to a serious infection, months in the hospital and follow up visits. If there were more standards and training for staff assisting passengers with disabilities, this would not have happened.”
“This is a matter of basic civil rights for all people with disabilities to have safe and reasonable accommodations in airports and on airplanes,” states David Zurfluh, national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America.
“PVA has been leading the charge, but now we need everyone’s help. We are on a mission to create a world where independent living is a reality for everyone. By supporting our efforts, the American public is showing lawmakers that accessible air travel is an important issue that demands action.
For more information, and to learn how to help and take action, visit Paralyzed Veterans of America.
[Source(s): Paralyzed Veterans of America, PR Newswire]
