Airline passenger news and views

In a previous article Disablity and Toilets, I discussed how difficult it was, when travelling with my elderly Aunt, and using the facilities within the airport. It got me thinking though. My Aunt had mentioned how difficult it was to use the on-board toilet and how she refrained from doing so when travelling long-haul.

Toilets on planes are difficult for everybody as they are so small and cramped. Most planes do not have toliets that are accessible to disabled people, especially those in wheelchairs.

It would seem that the ‘disabled’ passenger has to really think ahead and, without going into too much detail, have to meet their own needs. 

What I cannot understand is that if one airline can accommodate this situation, why cannot the rest? As pointed out by my colleague Jasper Kelly, Singapore Airlines are providing highly-rated disabled facilities.

This issue was also raised by one of our readers. Following a road accident, she found herself reliant on a wheelchair, and experienced the ‘access issues’. For this lady, being catheterised and unable to walk. meant restricting her fluid intake when flying. As she wrote, disability should not be this difficult. 

It really is about time the airlines considered the disabled passenger and gave a bit more thought to making their trans-Atlantic journeys less traumatic and miserable.