Air Travel Exclusion
The sector has nil autism services. Inclusivity strategies need to work in real life
Traveling with your child is a big milestone for any parent; it could be a vacation, a visit to relatives, relocation or simply some urgent business. However, these very actions become a difficult risk for families with autistic children due to lack of understanding that the travel sector presents. World over, instances have been reported which show that taking a flight with an autistic child often provokes incivility from the service operator, resulting in indignity for the parent and child and even incidents of not allowing the child to board the plane. The isolation burden is as shocking as it is true. From time to time this issue is prised open by the cruelty of one airline or the other and then it falls off the radar.
During May this year, IndiGo’s rancorous treatment of a wheelchair bound autistic teen and subsequent refusal for boarding a flight from Ranchi (capital of Indian state Jharkhand) was widely circulated by videos and posts on social media, it was picked up prominently by mainstream newspapers. IndiGo’s statement was revealing. Even after its conduct was universally decried, the airline blamed the autistic teen, and did not accept responsibility for its lack of special needs services. A statement from IndiGo CEO, Ronojoy Dutta read: “Having reviewed all aspects of this incident, we as an organisation are of the view that we made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances. Throughout the check-in and boarding process, our intent of course was to carry the family. However, at the boarding area, the teenager was visibly in panic.” The disability services policy of IndiGo for autistics is covered under the category of ‘Acute & Chronic Psychiatric or Emotional or Mental Disorders.’ Sedation is a mandatory requirement for those displaying aggressive behaviour - this would be applicable for most autistic children, teens and adults as a different environment may set off mannerisms, body language that would be construed as aggression even when they are not visible meltdowns.
Later facing a backlash of opinion, IndiGo did express regret, promised to train more and offered to buy an electric wheelchair for the affected boy as a ‘token of appreciation’ for the lifelong dedication of his parents to taking care of a person with disability.
Compelling evidence forced the hand of the government and IndiGo got slapped with a Rs 5 lakh (USD 6,311) fine by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which probed the matter.
What Airlines are doing?
IndiGo became a member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2019 and ought to have calibrated its trainings in line with the Disabled Passenger with Intellectual or Developmental Disability Needing Assistance (DPNA) standards which aim to make travel stress free and dignified for families with special needs children.
The major airlines in India that follow the DPNA standards include SpiceJet, Air India and Vistara. SpiceJet lists Autism as a separate category under Special Assistance. While booking tickets, for autistic flyers, parents may call SpiceJet’s reservations and tell the airline about specific requirements and assistance required during travel. Sedation of the passenger is required. In the past, SpiceJet hit headlines for unreasonable discrimination in the context of Cerebral Palsy. In 2012, SpiceJet had offloaded activist, Jeeja Ghosh who has this disability and was travelling alone incidentally to attend a rights conference. Jeeja filed a writ petition with the Supreme Court of India. The apex court ruled in her favour in 2016 and ordered SpiceJet to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs. Presumably SpiceJet would have learnt its lessons.
Air India, now a Tata group company classes autistic flyers as mentally challenged passengers. Prescribed injectable medicine to be administered by an attendant accompanying the flyer is a requirement.
Another Tata airline Vistara has a friendly description. Autism is listed under Cognitive and Developmental conditions. It asks of parents, guardians to evaluate risks of meltdowns, ability to understand safety briefings from flight crew or spend time in the airport or hotel in case of flight delay and cancellation. It seems Vistara is cognizant of the fact that autism is a spectrum and therefore the requirement for an assistant is mandated in case of those autistics who need continuous supervision and care. Sedation is not a mandatory requirement. Those who have navigation skills but require special assistance can journey by themselves. The theory looks all good. Let’s see what is practised.
An autism mom who was travelling Vistara from Delhi to Singapore was in a spin and went public on Twitter inorder to get what is promised.
I called your HD multiple times to take assistance for my special needs son for travelling abroad under #DPNA ur team isn’t even aware of this. Is it only for internet and for filing just to show you care special needs? It’s a shame!” It got her attention and resolution.
Isolation Facts
There is no getting away from one reality – as autistics grow from their infancy to early childhood and teen years, challenges at airports are one big systemic issue, rendering trips very difficult and impossible for most autistic adults. This results in many families shunning outstation travel with their autistic children, it is not that they do not want to travel, it is the barriers that their neurodivergent children face.
There is very little research about travel patterns and needs of the autistic population. However, there have been some recent researches on exclusion. According to a survey study done by International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), only 13 per cent of autism families surveyed took family vacations. Yet, 93 per cent of respondents said they would be more inclined to travel if autism services were available.
IBCCES is an internationally recognized certification for autism professionals and also runs a popular Certified Autism Travel Professional (CATP) program.
Findings by the National Autistic Society, UK state that due to lack of public understanding 50 per cent of autistic people and families don’t go out. It is a searing fact. Traveling is a life-enhancing and transformative experience. Our society and systems must recognise this as a basic need for autistic people.
DPNA rules & CAR Amendments
Special Service Request (SSR) codes are used in the airline industry to communicate traveller preferences or needs to airlines. It ranges from meal preferences to special assistance and are delivered through standardised four-letter codes defined by IATA. The DPNA code was introduced in May 2008 and is applicable to IATA member airlines. So, parents need to request this code while booking through online travel portals or airline websites. It is advisable to call the airline directly to communicate the support required and get the request registered.
Why knowing about this special assistance code matters? In 2019, an enormous advocacy of this was done by famous Emirati vlogger Khalid Al Ameri who traveled to Bahrain with his autistic son on an Etihad Airways flight using the DPNA SSR code. He documented his travel in a powerful video and posted it on Facebook which has since been viewed more than 2 million times, liked and shared by thousands across the world. The video was made in support of ‘Travel Unified’ campaign of Travelport, a global travel retail platform. The content has been used for awareness raising for travel consultants about the DPNA code which is meant to guarantee appropriate assistance at the airports for departure, arrival, transit and prioritise seating needs of autistic passengers.
After the IndiGo fiasco, certain amendments have been made to Carriage by Air - Persons with Disability and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility (CAR Section 3 Series M Part I). The discretion of airline executives has been ended. “Airline shall not refuse carriage of any person on the basis of disability. However, in case, an airline perceives that the health of such a passenger may deteriorate in-flight, the said passenger will have to be examined by a Doctor- who shall categorically state the medical condition and whether the passenger is fit to fly or not. After obtaining the medical opinion, the Airline shall take the appropriate call,” the DGCA has made these changes.
Awareness & good examples
Though there is a surfeit of information and advice for parents for flying with their autistic children, there is a severe paucity of training programs for other stakeholders in the ecosystem. Gradually such modules are being developed. One good example is the ‘Wings for Autism/ Wings for All’ a program run by an organization called The Arc in Massachusetts.
Airports and airplanes can evoke strong emotions for autistics as they may seem overwhelming sensory cauldrons. These are after all unfamiliar spaces full of unexpected actions and overstimulating variables such as lights, noises, security screening, baggage claim, crowds that further add to their confusion. Handling the accommodations of an air travel process is a gargantuan challenge for most autistics. As a result, many families opt out because of inhibitory systems, thus autistic people miss out on seeing new places and connecting with outstation family members.
The Arc addresses these deficits through its training programs and enables air travel preparedness. The Wing for Autism runs two kinds of trainings – for individuals and families and for aviation professionals. While the autistic individuals get rehearsals and simulated experiences, the airport, airline and travel industry consultants get to observe autistic individuals and interact with their families in a structured environment. The goal is to develop their disability service competency.
Many airports are also stepping up autism friendly features. The Government of India aviation body DGCA must study these models and impress upon the operator, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to incorporate the global best practices in this domain. If airports become flagbearers of inclusion and display support services prominently, awareness increases in society, airlines then have to follow humanist principles proactively. Awareness and support services can make air travel for autistics exciting and a positive experience. Above all, the ethical argument is compelling: ushering policies that make lives better is a governance virtue.
In Conclusion
People with autism have a right to living a full life in the community. Traveling for pleasure or work to different locations are options that they must have. The ability to navigate air transit comfortably and to experience the same opportunities as every other traveller is essential for quality of life goals. Misinterpretation of behaviours such as differences in motor function or slow movement, lack of eye contact, and nonverbal tendencies unfortunately do lead to fracas that the IndiGo-bound autistic teen and his family faced. To develop a comprehensive support model all stakeholders in the eco-system have to work together: parents, airlines, airports, security personnel at the airports. Parents also have to be realistic in their evaluations. Not every autistic child or adult will be able to tolerate a flight journey, some may have a different transport preference like roads or rails.
For far too long, families caring for an autistic son or daughter have lived with the trapped within the four walls feeling.
Next column, I look at the trends in the Hospitality Industry. There are many roadblocks that have to be removed in the travel sector.
Air travel exclusion is ground reality of airports in our country they are clueless indeed.
Very well written 👏👏👏