The Operation Officer of Africa World Travel, Mr Apigy Afednu, says that his company was on record for airlifting persons with disabilities and cannot explain why it was jointly sued with Antrak Air, and Starbow Air. He, however, he said that for people in that category, there was the need for forehand knowledge to enable the airline to put in place the needed facilities.
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Operations Officer, Mr Apigy Afednu Responds To Lawsuit
The Operation Officer of Africa World Travel, Mr Apigy Afednu, says that his company was on record for airlifting persons with disabilities and cannot explain why it was jointly sued with Antrak Air, and Starbow Air.
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Mr Afednu emphasised that safety is a major priority in the airline industry,“Normally, when you call to buy an air ticket, we ask you a lot of leading questions, for instance if you have a special need. If you do not declare in advance that you are disabled and all of a sudden you appear, and you are wheelchair bound, we cannot do much,” he explained.
Mr Afednu said the association should have sought for an amicable solution instead of resorting to the law court. The Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) has filed a motion on notice, praying the Human Rights Division of the High Court to restrain three local airlines from discriminating against persons with disabilities by way of refusing to sell flight tickets to them.
It is also seeking an interlocutory injunction against the respondents not to deny such persons who desire to travel on their aircraft services, pending the determination of a substantive suit.The motion which comply with Section 28 (1) of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) States that “The Civil Aviation Authority and any other authority responsible for the management of a port shall provide facilities that will aid the movement of a person with disability at the port.”
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According to an affidavit of the motion deposed by Mr Elvis Kosi Alikpui a member of the society said, the applicant had reliably been informed from a more reliable source that the three respondent airlines, after being served with the writ of summons and statement of claim and having been aggrieved and embarrassed by the action, had decided to take some steps to also embarrass and deny their services to members of the applicant.
It said the applicant had been informed that the three airlines had vowed not to make their services accessible to any of the applicant’s members and or persons with disability as a whole. The affidavit expressed the belief that if the three airlines were allowed to continue with their discriminatory acts, it would not be only members of the applicant organisation that would suffer, but also other innocent persons with a disability.
The plaintiff is being represented by Dr Kwaku Nsiah, an Accra-based lAn official of Antrak Airline said to our souce, “We handle passengers with reduced mobility, although there are categories that we are unable to accept for carriage since we do not have the equipment to handle such, and may add more complications to passengers if compromised.”
The official said it could handle passengers requiring wheelchairs for ramp and for distance to and from the aircraft. However the official added, “We are unable to process the following Wheelchair for Stairs ( WCHS). Passenger is unable to ascend/descend steps, but is able to make own way to/from cabin seat, requires wheel chair for distance to/from aircraft and must be carried up and down the stairs.
“Wheelchair for Cabin Seat (WCHC) Passenger is completely immobile; requires wheelchair to/from aircraft and must be carried up/down steps and to/from the cabin seat” “The codes above are International Air Transport Association (IATA) Standard of categorisation of Wheelchair passenger(s) and wheelchair for Ramp (WCHR) is the category of Wheelchair passenger(s) Antrak Air carries.
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The passenger in question is a Wheelchair for Cabin Seat (WCHC) and Antrak Air cannot carry”.
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