Oliva and Nora

‘It is utterly humiliating and disempowering to be carted around the airport, in full view of other travellers, in such a restrictive, prison-like way’.

Oliva is in her early teens and uses a wheelchair. When she flies, some airlines take away her own wheelchair at check-in and replace it with an ‘inadequate’ wheelchair.

Oliva has ‘balance issues or dystonia’ and has to be ‘heavily strapped up’ when using airline wheelchairs. Her mother, Nora, told the Royal Commission that these straps ‘amount to physical restraints’.

Being ‘strapped up’ like this, Nora says, is ‘uncomfortable, painful, and frightening’, and sitting for prolonged periods in an unsuitable chair can result in serious pain and pressure wounds.

Using the airline’s wheelchair also limits independent mobility and often leaves the person dependant on airline staff. Staff are often called away and people can be left ‘parked in corridors for substantial amounts of time, with no access to food or water, no access to a toilet and no way to communicate’.

When Oliva flew recently she was subjected to this restrictive practice and was ‘frightened and utterly distraught’.

‘People have no idea what it is like,’ she told her mother.

Nora believes these ‘physical restraints’ are contrary to the Australian Government’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority Guidelines for Travellers with a Disability which ‘clearly state “airlines cannot restrict the movements of passengers in terminals, including those with a disability. Nor can they require them to remain in a holding area or other location while waiting for transport or assistance”’.

Nora complained to the airline. They told her any change to their practices would cause them ‘unjustifiable hardship’.

Nora would like to see ‘restrictive check-in procedures’ removed and all airlines ‘allow wheelchair users to take their own chairs to the door of the airplane’ and a serious overhaul of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) to amend the complaints procedure.