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, a representative of the Network for Transport Mobility for All, to Social Development and Human Security Minister Varawut Silpa-archa.
In response, the minister has told the department to take up the complaint, which will be passed on to its internal panel to end unfair treatment of disabled persons for review.
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.