Airline hit by disability row
published : 15 Mar 2024 at 08:44
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Online Reporters
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will look into a complaint filed by a wheelchair-bound activist after an airline denied boarding on the grounds that he had no one to escort him on the flight.
The complaint was submitted by Kritsana Lalai of the Network for Transport Mobility for All.
On Feb 29, Thai Vietjet said it had strictly followed procedures over the incident.
A passenger with mobility issues who requires assistance needs to notify the airline at least 48 hours in advance, the airline said.
They must also be accompanied by an able-bodied person who consents to acting as their escort. The person is needed to assist the disabled passenger in the event of an emergency. However, in Mr Kritsana's case, none of the four people booked to travel with him agreed to be his escort, according to the airline.
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Vocabulary
- able-bodied: physically strong and healthy - แข็งแรง, มีสุขภาพดี
- accompanied by: to happen or exist while something else is happening -
- activist: someone who takes part in activities that are intended to achieve political or social change, especially someone who is a member of an organisation - นักกิจกรรม
- complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การบ่น, ข้อที่ไม่พอใจ
- disability: an illness, injury or condition that makes it difficult for someone to do the things that other people do - ความพิการ
- disabled: having a condition, especially a physical one, that limits your activities in some way - พิการ
- escort: a person or group of people or vehicles that travels with somebody/something in order to protect or guard them - คนคุ้มครอง
- issue: a problem that needs to be considered - ประเด็น
- mobility: the ability to move or travel around easily - การเคลื่อนที่ได้ง่าย, การเคลื่อนไหว
- procedures (noun): ways of doing something - ขั้นตอนการดำเนินการ
- row: a serious disagreement about an issue between people, organisations or countries - การทะเลาะวิวาท
- submitted (verb): formally given to someone, usually, but not always, so that they can make a decision about it - ยื่น
