Air France avoids disabled passengers

A well-known magazine, Emerging Horizons, has accused Air France for not making arrangements to suit disabled passengers.  In its summer issue the magazine called Air France Germ of the Year in its research on travel industry. It was based on personal experience of one of its editors who is paraplegic.  The magazine found that Air France was not doing enough to care for people with disabilities to have a seamless travel experience.  The carrier was simply ignoring the requirements of people with less mobility and at times, even refused to allow such passengers on its flights.

In one incident, a senior captain of Air France refused to accommodate a disabled passenger on the flight.  The passenger Michelle Daly, who is a French government adviser, had booked an Air France flight from Paris to London. She was travelling to London to attend a conference on disabilities.  However, when the captain came to know that the lady could not walk by herself, he asked her to leave the plane.  According to him, she posed a risk to safety and health of other passengers.

Air France argued that the captain’s decision was correct, as their aircraft was not equipped to handle disabled passengers.  Allowing her to travel on the plane would have posed safety risks to the plane as well as other passengers.

Fortunately, British Airways were willing to accommodate her on its flight to London later in the afternoon that day.

Please visit www.airfrance.com and www.britishairways.com for more