Advocates and
"This is not to minimize the number of incidents nor the serious impacts the disruptions have on the individuals involved. But it is important context that indicates, first, we do a good job and, second, more importantly, we need and we will continue to get better," Rousseau said.
"We have concluded the chief issue was inconsistency," he added, citing training as the remedy.
Complaint statistics fail to reflect the travel experience of many people living with disabilities, who sometimes wait unassisted for hours or have to instruct employees on how to guide them, said disability rights advocate
“I personally have spent four hours parked at a gate waiting for a flight," said
"No one's come to see me. There's no way to contact anyone. I'm having to go to the washroom. I can't get something to eat," she said.
"We're moved like luggage from one end to the other."
Rousseau acknowledged that the issues are "probably underreported."
Lepofsky pushed back.
“To be able to say you're doing a good job and these are the numbers is to be shockingly out of touch with our experience," he told the transport committee.
"We heard from
"As a blind person, I dread entering Canadian airspace."
Lepofsky called for an easily reachable hotline for travellers with disabilities at each airline, regulator-deployed "secret shoppers" who pose as passengers to assess customer service practices and curb-to-gate assistance by a single employee — rather than being "passed like a baton" by up to five workers.
Multiple incidents surfaced at Canadian airlines over the past year, prompting the committee hearings.
A B.C. man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an
Under a three-year plan,
Earlier this year, the carrier formed an advisory committee made up of customers with disabilities and launched the "sunflower program" where a lanyard worn by travellers indicates to staff they may need assistance — the first airline in
It also now allows customers to track their checked mobility aids in real time with an app.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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